6th Division: Rebirth
by Satashi
Summary: [Book I] Follows the actions of the 6th division from the start, focusing more on characters and their relationships.
1. Chapter 1

Please Read: This story contains intimate scenes between Nanoha and Fate, nothing bad enough to be considered "Mature" reading, but close enough to give a warning to people who don't like that sort of thing. Shojo-ai follows so if you don't like Nanoha and Fate as a couple please stop here. If you do, however, then please enjoy this story.

* * *

It has been ten years since we had joined the TSAB now. Back then we were young girls, scared but determined to do the right thing. Fate, Hayate, and I were given triple A ranks when we first started and were only required to take a three month course before we were enlisted officially. Of course our past records spoke for themselves. Three nine year olds took out the Book of Darkness, the tome of the night sky, where other specialist and high ranked mages and entire battalions failed. Fate and I owe it to Hayate's strong will and desire to protect people but everyone else saw it as three legendary Aces making their arrival on the scene. I didn't mind it much, as all of us were given special attention on our way though the ranks. Now we were together again, forming our new unit to serve and protect as well as look into lost logia cases. Although I wanted the group to be named something nice that everyone could easily remember, we were instead given a generic name:

**Time-Space Administration Bureau's Special Management, 6****th**** mobile Division**

**By: **

**Satashi**

"So this is it, huh?" Nanoha asked amazement clear in her voice. She knew that the higher ups were stingy when it came to the formation of new divisions so she was half-expecting a standard building for their cause. For this reason, Chrono had officially used his rank as a captain of a ship to request the best facilities for them. Yuuno, chief librarian of the infinite library had submitted a report as well that he would personally research anything they needed. Along with those two highly influential people, the "Ace of Aces" of both the sky and ground divisions requested special transference to the unit along with Hayate's four guardian knights, who were both envied and feared by anyone who knew their names. With such high expectations and people gathering all in one unit, the higher ups had formally accepted the Division and held a meeting to determine the residence for them.

"They gave us the new buildings and training center!?" Fate asked, shocked, as she stepped out of the car that Hayate had been driving. Her normally quiet voice had actually broken when she spoke. The building itself was several stories tall and had one of the most elegant designs she had seen around the headquarters.

"It even has a fountain out front!" Rein told them, flying out of the car and pointing to the side, where they all saw a large stone fountain with crystal clear water flying from it.

"That is the residential section," Hayate stepped out of the car and closed the door with a bump from her hip. "The actual working offices are over there." She pointed, making the other girls turn and look at another building. Despite being an office building, most of the sides were glass and from an elegant architecture, there were lots of greenery visible on the inside as well. "Because of the massive expansion of the headquarters there was a greenery law passed," She informed them as they walked. "I don't recall the exact principle of it, but for every so many yards of cement there has to be a bush or tree or something. I guess that's why everything looks so peaceful here."

"Waaah! We have a lake around the training area!" Nanoha cried out excitedly from the air. "Let's go swimming later!"

"Nanoha get down here!" Hayate called up at her, half laughing half serious. "The staff and recruits should already be here, they'll see you!"

"And you're panty-shotting everyone again!" Fate added in, making Nanoha drop instantly. "Honestly, what is it with you and flying in dresses and mini skirts?"

"They're standard issue!" She protested, face turning red. "I can't help it!" She looked at Fate sideways, crossing her arms. "You don't have to look, you know. If you want to see them you could just ask." The words made the blond stammer and look away, much to the delight of the other girl. "Hehe, you're blushing, Fate-chan."

"Okay, okay, enough flirting for now." Hayate walked between them and linked both their arms with hers. "I haven't seen the inside since they cleaned and moved in the furniture and plants! Come on, I'm excited." The three shared a laugh before Rein met up with them and they entered the residential area. "Fate-chan, Nanoha-chan, I'll show you to your room so you can get settled in. Rein, have their things been brought over yet?"

"Should be," Rein brought her hands up, getting a monitor and keyboard in front of her. After a few keystrokes she smiled and nodded. "Yes, it's already in their room."

"We're sharing a room?" Fate asked softly.

"Yeah," Hayate closed her eyes and smiled. "As soon as I saw it I knew that you two would love it so I made sure that it was issued to you."

"I can't wait to see it now," Nanoha smiled happily. "I bet it's really nice!"

"Right this way!" Rein cheered before flying off to lead them. The four made it to a glass elevator and were soon riding it up to one of the top floors. "The bottom floor is a mess hall. Since our station is on an island connecting the newer part of the base to the older part, we're equipped to handle quite a few people. The first three floors above that are standard dorm rooms, a little bland but more spacious than what was on the Asura at least." She turned to look at the girls, who were both listening and looking out the glass sides of the elevator as they moved upwards. "The fourth and fifth floors are for the 6th divisions official ranking officers, this is where everyone who works under us will be staying. The sixth and seventh floors are for special people, reserved for anyone of importance visiting the headquarters. This is also where our rooms are."

"Neat," Nanoha mused, turning to look at Rein. "Which floor are we on?"

"Sixth and seventh," She replied easily as the doors of the elevator opened and the group stepped out. The hallway was a bright white color and well lit through a combination of lights and skylights that let in the sunshine from outside. "The seventh floor is kind of small and was intended to house a group of people at once but since it was more efficient for Hayate and her four guardians and I to share a room rather than take up one individually, we decided to live there. Most everything else is two floors."

"Here is your room." Hayate stood by a door and held up one hand as if to usher them in. "After you," She teased.

"Come on," Nanoha pulled Fate the rest of the way and waved her hand over the scanner, getting a soft beep and being granted entrance as the door slid open. "Oh wow!" she hopped a few steps in and looked around. The room was a loft style, choosing rather to have fewer large rooms rather than multiple smaller ones. The entrance went directly into a large room that seemed to be the living room. The wall on the left came up to a little over waist height before turning to glass and ever so slightly slanting upwards to the ceiling. Nanoha instantly ran over to it and placed her hands on the glass to look at the view they had over the bright lake and the main body of central headquarters far off in the distance. "What a great view!" Her words were interrupted by a happy laugh in the middle of saying them, making the other three girls smile. Nanoha hadn't changed much at all over the years.

Fate walked to the right and ran her hand along a sensor to cut on the lights. "We have our own kitchen?" She asked aloud, even though she was staring right at it. The room was a long rectangular shape, half making up the kitchen before being split apart by a bar and stepping down into the dining room.

"Well, they were made so you could have privacy," Hayate told her as Nanoha noticed the stairs leading up to their bedroom. "Since you will probably want to eat without having to deal with your colleagues or students."

"How thoughtful," Fate mused, stepping down the two steps into the dining room, which had a table and chairs, as well as two barstools so they could sit and talk to people in the kitchen.

"Oh wow, the bed is _huge_!" Nanoha called out before the two girls heard a flomping sound. "And it's _soft_!" Hayate laughed openly while Fate just simply smiled. The two walked back past the kitchen and around the wall dividing it from the living room. From there they walked down the large room by the equally long table and over to a small stairway that lead them up to the bedroom, which had no walls but was raised from the rest of the room for privacy. Fate noticed absently that the ceiling to the kitchen and dining room was actually the floor of the bedroom as well. Nanoha was currently laid on the bed face down, body spread out in a giant 'X' shape. "Look Fate-chan, I don't even reach the other side." She stretched out to emphasize her point. The bed had several pillows on it already, some white while others were white with pink stripes on them. The bed sheets themselves were a clean, crisp white offset by a large pink comforter. It was also apparently big enough to not only fit Fate and Nanoha together but Hayate could also sleep there as well and the three would never touch. "Aahhhh," Nanoha sighed out and got comfortable. "I could go to sleep right now…"

"You will have plenty of time to do that later," Rein told her, landing on Nanoha's head and getting her to look up. "You still haven't seen the rest yet."

"Okay, okay." She pulled herself up and slid off the bed, heading downstairs to look around at what she missed the first time.

"Look here, too," Hayate asked Fate, walking around the bed and over a little more to another smaller glass wall that actually turned out to be a balcony. The two walked outside into the warm sun and looked around. "It's a little added feature they put in since the roof is shaped odd," She admitted. "It's a small balcony but there's nothing above you and it's hidden from everywhere else." She pointed up along the slanted roof surrounding the balcony on two sides. "My room is up there." The only side of the balcony with a view showed the water that surrounded the small island and not much else. "It seems a little weird, but that's where the sun sets, so I think it's a nice place to come when you want to be alone… Or drink a little champagne." She looked over at Fate playfully, making her blush and look away.

"I-I don't have anyone to drink with," She stammered, embarrassed.

"Sure, sure." Hayate teased her, pushing the girl playfully back inside where Nanoha was currently setting the temperature controls.

"Fate-chan, you like it cool don't you?" She pondered, pressing the transparent buttons in front of her. "I better set it a few degrees cooler since the sun coming in will probably warm up the living room…Oh!" She looked up at them leaning on the railing that overlooked the living room. "Did you see the shower!?"

"Shower?" Fate pondered, looking around and noticing another door that she had missed when walking out to the balcony. The black glass tinted door opened to her command and inside was a large bathroom, everything having a dark marble surface it seemed. "Oh wow, it's huge." Fate walked in and over to the shower section, looking around more. Several faucets were on the walls and ceiling, as well as a temperature control setting panel and radio.

"The best part is this," Hayate smiled, pressing a few buttons and making a semi-transparent vision of the bottom of a waterfall appear around them. Where Fate was standing would be where the water would spray and around her was a jungle-ish type of place with flowers and tropical looking plants. "The top of the line in leisure, guaranteed to take your mind of your troubles, if only for a few minutes."

"People have way too much free time," Fate mused happily, turning off the settings before Hayate decided to get playful and drench her in water.

"Ah! Speaking of free time, I don't really have any!" Hayate brought a hand to her mouth. "I should have just dropped you off, I'm going to be late!" The girl trotted out of the room and down the stairs, meeting up with Rein and Nanoha. "Feel free to look around, we won't have to meet up to see the staff and recruits for another few hours but I need to do some stuff over in the office building! I'll show you your desk later!"

"Okay, have fun, Hayate-chan, Rein-chan!" Nanoha waved at them as they sped out of the doorway. "Must be tough being the one in charge of everything." She turned to smile at Fate. "I am nervous enough with teaching the forward cadets."

"You'll be fine," Fate smiled, watching Nanoha walk across the floor downstairs and start climbing up to her and sitting on the bed.

"Yes, but the people I train will be your colleagues in battle so I kind of have a habit of getting too into it, nyahaha." She closed her eyes as she laughed nervously. "Oh yeah, we should start now!"

"Start?"

"Our new photo album!" Nanoha held up her fingers in front of her to make a box. "Camera activate," She commanded, getting a yellow transparent rectangle in front of her. Once it was formed, she moved her fingers out so the view covered Fate's upper body. "The first time in our new apartment, Fate T, Harlaown looks out over the bedroom balcony. Camera snap!" The vocal order made the yellowish image of Fate freeze for a moment before losing it's tint and revealing a holographic picture. "Save, please. Place in photo album: 6th mobile division."

"You and your habit of taking pictures," Fate teased but despite her words also took a photo of Nanoha as well and stored it. "You're almost as bad as me."

"I'm no where near as bad as you," She protested good naturedly. "You have more pictures than the rest of us combined." Stretching out, Nanoha yawned. "I'm beat. I was so excited last night I didn't sleep at all." The girl started to unbutton her uniform jacket. "Take a nap with me, Fate-chan?"

"It's not even noon yet and you want to take a nap?"

"Oh come on, I was really, really busy the last few days!" She eyed Fate, wondering on her to get her cuddle toy to lay down with her. "Ne, Fate-chan, come here?"

"What is it?" Fate walked over to her and sat on the bed, watching Nanoha get behind her and undo the black ribbon in her hair. "Nanoha-chan?"

"Your ribbon was about to fall out," She lied happily, finger combing her hair. "I'll fix it for you."

"Oh, please do." Fate closed her eyes and let her friend do what she asked to do. After a few moments she pondered why it was taking so long but found a third of her hair be placed over her shoulder and felt Nanoha run a finger down her hair to divide what was left of it. "Are you braiding my hair?" She pondered aloud.

"I am," She replied simply, taking her time to slowly make sure the hair was divided right. The process could have been done in less than three minutes but at that point Nanoha was only just starting to wrap the strands together to form the braid, carefully taking her time to make sure it was snug and wouldn't come undone even if Fate gave a demonstration that day. When she reached the end, she left a little hair left to make a cute little ponytail before she pulled her own ribbon from her hair and tied it snugly. Now with her friend taken care of, she tied the black ribbon around the ponytail holder in her off-set ponytail and then placed her hands on Fate's shoulders, rubbing them.

"Hmmmnnn…" The sound escaped Fate drowsily, making Nanoha grin. She knew her friend couldn't have her hair messed with without becoming sleepy, and her back was even more sensitive than that.

"You're tense," Nanoha cooed out, reaching around her to undo the buttons on the jacket and slip it off of Fate. She carefully folded it and placed it on the nightstand on top of her own.

"No I'm not," Fate disagreed, moving to stand up but was pulled back down. "Nanohaaa…"

"What?" She asked innocently, rubbing her back gently.

"I know what you're doing," She accused, getting drowsier by the moment.

"Oh?" Nanoha ran her palm up Fate's spine, making her bend over forward. Taking the chance, she pulled out the tucked in white button up shirt and slid her hands under it, touching her skin and massaging. The blonde's protest were cut off then as she gave into her friend and allowed her to continue rubbing a few more minutes before finally wrapping her arms around her waist, still under the shirt, and leaning over so they were lying on the bed together. Now content with Fate cuddled up against her, Nanoha closed her eyes and felt Fate's hand be placed on top of hers. She rubbed her thumb across her hand soothingly, keeping the now drowsy girl in the state where she would go to sleep. "Raging heart?" Nanoha whispered softly against Fate's hair.

"Yes, my master?"

"Wake us in an hour please?"

"All right."

Nanoha sighed out contently as the requested hour slowly ticked by the two as they lay in bed. Fate was knocked clean out after the backrub, peacefully snoring into one of the giant pillows. Nanoha took advantage of the situation and held onto her, gently nuzzling her from against her back, trying to mold their bodies together. The motion worked like it always did and Fate mumbled in her sleep about being held a little closer. The brown haired girl hazily attempted to do such a thing but already started drifting off on her own. Seemingly no time later after her eyes closed than did Raging Heart speak up again.

"One hour has passed, my master,"

Fate opened her eyes lightly, hearing Nanoha request another ten minutes to sleep and Raging heart trying to deny her by getting the girl to wake up right now. Slowly her mind wondered where she was and why she was in bed when the sun was obviously already in the sky. Her eyes closed again, tempted to let the scenario slide by her due to her sleepiness but when Nanoha's hands shifted lightly under her shirt she opened them again and blinked a few times. "Ah….? Ah!" Fate sat up quickly, almost taking the girl cuddling her up as well. "You did it again didn't you!?"

"Did what?" Nanoha asked innocently up at her with a smile. When Fate crossed her arms at her, she let out her classic nervous laugh. "Nyahaha…"

"Don't 'nyahaha' me, Nanoha-chan." She pouted. "Mou, I wanted to look around the buildings before we had to get to work."

"We still have time," Nanoha sat up and stretched out contently. "Thanks for sleeping with me."

"You always do that," She complained again as she moved her feet off the bed and rubbed her eyes. "Rub my back and then jump me once I start not thinking."

"Not always, sometimes I just have to braid your hair before you fall over on your own." The sentence was meant to defend herself, making Fate look at her half-amused and half-miffed at the same time. "I'm sorry, Fate-chan?"

With a sigh, Fate nodded and allowed the girl to crawl over to her and wrap her arms in a hug, nuzzling her cheek much like a kitten would. "Stop that, you." She protested, laughing. Nanoha only continued, even letting out a small meow to make Fate smile again. The sound worked and Fate brought her hand up to rub the top of Nanoha's head. "There, there, good kitty," The brown haired girl went to rub her face against Fate' once more but her hand slipped off the side of the bed and she ended up falling off, landing with a small thud on the floor. A whole two seconds went by before Nanoha realized what had happened, making the blond collapse into a helpless fit of laughter.

* * *

"These rooms are kind of nice," Nanoha mused, peeking into one of the empty dorm rooms. She was already changed into her new uniform, a matching brown dress suit and mini skirt complete with gold rank medals on the right sleeve and off-setting white stockings.

Fate looked over her shoulder in the room and hummed to herself. "Yeah, not too shabby. I wouldn't mind having had to stay in one of these." She too was in her new uniform, matching Nanoha exactly except for the black pantyhose she had chosen for herself. The two nodded at each other and walked to the end of the hall and looked both ways to see if there was anything else of interest before returning to the elevator and going down to the second floor and looking around once more at the standard rooms, which seemed to be standard military attire; two beds to a room, a sink, small refrigerator, and precious little else. "Its times like this that makes me glad we were always given special privileges," She thought aloud while Nanoha frowned at the room. "We were always allowed to stay on Earth and teleport in to the Asura after school when we would have been in these rooms."

"You said it," Nanoha pulled Fate along the way back to the elevator and they both continued down to the bottom floor where a few people were starting to walk around. "The mess hall officially opened today didn't it?" Nanoha asked as she looked around. Fate gave her a confirming hum in answer and heard her friend's stomach growl at her in response. "I, um, could really use a snack."

"If you hadn't bedded me we would have time to eat a proper lunch," Fate told her playfully as they walked over to a small vending machine.

"You make it sound so nasty," Nanoha teased back, pressing her finger on the number corresponding to what she wanted. The machine beeped at her and dropped a box of Midchildra's version of pocky, automatically taking the amount from Nanoha's bank account. "Want something; my treat?"

Fate leaned over her friend's shoulder and pondered the choices, finally picking out a candy bar that lavished in chocolate. Her hand lightly picked up Nanoha's and moved it to the button, pressing her finger against it, getting a beep and dropping it. "Thank you," she whispered into her ear, making the girl shiver unconsciously. On the way back, she gave Nanoha's ear a light nip causing the girl to jump and drop her box of candy. Fate smiled to herself while Nanoha knelt down to pick up the box and trotted a few steps to catch back up with her when she started to walk.

"Seems like things are picking up now," Nanoha thought aloud, looking at the sudden outbreak of people walking around the outside. Several cars rolled by and people were accumulating on a semi-large scale around the grounds. "I guess that's to be expected since we're kind of an island connecting two bases, huh?"

"And we're not the only ones who will use the building; we just have the top floors for now. Soon it'll be filled, a little over half will be ours and the rest will probably wind up being research space. I guess a lot of people will be rolling through this intersection after all." Fate looked at the entrance to the office building and smiled when the cool air inside greeted her. Almost instantly Nanoha's fingers found hers and interlaced them together, giving a loving squeeze. "I missed that," She admitted as they looked around together, neither knowing exactly where they were supposed to be going. "It's been a while since we were stationed together huh?"

"Too long," Nanoha agreed, rubbing her thumb across Fate's palm. "But for now on we'll be together again." She smiled at her and received a blush. Together the two made their way around and finally found the reception desk, where the girl sitting there seemed to be frantically trying to organize. "Excuse me," Nanoha greeted, getting a prompt salute. "We're looking for Yagami Hayate."

"I'm sorry; she's busy at the moment." The lady addressed them apologetically. "If you come back after today's ceremony I can schedule you an appointment?"

Fate smiled down at her kindly. "I'm Lieutenant Fate T. Harlaown and this is Flight Lieutenant Takamachi Nanoha, we're going to be in the ceremony and need to speak with Hayate please."

"Ma'am!" The girl stood at attention and saluted them properly. "Please forgive me; I didn't know who you were!"

Nanoha giggled and saluted her back while Fate simply smiled. "Could you tell us where to find her?"

"Ma'am, Top floor, second room on the right, ma'am!"

"At ease," Nanoha teased the secretary. "We'll be seeing each other a lot so you have permission to speak freely." The girl looked visibly relieved when they didn't seem upset at her lack of proper respect for their ranks. "We'll be on our way, do your best today." She waved at the girl as the two walked on their path to the elevator. Once inside Nanoha opened the side pouch on her uniform and took out a stick of pocky, nibbling it as they ascended.

"No wonder everyone likes you," Fate leaned against the wall of the elevator and looked over at her. "You really are kind to everyone still."

"That bad?" Nanoha blinked, sucking the last piece of the treat into her mouth and going for another one.

"Not at all," The reply was lined with a pleased sound. "I'm happy you're still the same even after all these years."

"Mou, you make it sound like we didn't keep in touch!" Nanoha flailed her arms out. "We talked every night! Sometimes twice!" Her face turned to a look of teasing. "And don't forget those 'special' nights."

Fate instantly colored. "Na-Nanoha-chan! Don't say that kind of thing!" She looked to the side. "It's embarrassing…" She heard her friend giggle a moment before lightly yelping. "What did you do?"

"Bit my finger," The brown haired girl laughed. "Tried to eat too fast."

"Here, let me." Fate took the offended hand and took it between both of hers before bringing it to her lips and lightly kissing the fingertip. "There, all better."

"I bit my lip too," Nanoha cooed, taking a step closer to her and looking up at the taller woman with a cute expression. "Kiss me there too?"

"Nanoha-chan…" Fate blushed a little but when the shorter girl didn't retreat she leaned over slightly. The doors opened at that moment, making them both pull apart and allowing someone to step into the elevator as well. "I-I didn't see anything in your eye," She stammered out as best as she could to hide her embarrassment. Luckily for her Nanoha went along with it by gently rubbing her eye.

"Thank you, it must just be an spec of dirt or something." She smiled brightly at the person who just entered and got a salute. "Hello," She saluted back even though she didn't have to. The doors to the top floor opened and the two girls stepped out. The walk was short and the door to Hayate's office opened easily after a knock and a bid to enter. "Hayate-chan!" Nanoha greeted instantly, looking around the room in awe. "Oh wow you're office is so big!"

"Welcome!" Hayate smiled at them, walking over to the girls and looking at their uniforms. "You girls look great!"

"Thank you, I like them," Fate smiled, looking down at her outfit. "It's been a while since we all wore the same thing, huh?"

"Yeah it has," Hayate agreed, letting Rein sit on her shoulder. "I was expecting you two a little earlier so I already have my work taken care of before the ceremony. Would you two like a small tour?"

"Yeah!" Nanoha nodded happily.

"Oh you seem to be in a chipper mood, did you take a nap earlier?"

"That's why we're a little late," Fate agreed for her friend.

"Oh? You took a nap too, that's rare." Fate looked away and blushed, making Hayate let out a knowing giggle. "Nanoha made you didn't she?"

"Slightly," The blue eyed girl agreed. Any farther comments were currently put on hold when another knock greeted them. Upon hearing the person's information, the three girls went downstairs to greet the cadets who had apparently just gathered together for the ceremony to document the official opening of the 6th mobile division.

* * *

"What a day," Fate said to herself as she entered her apartment that night. The lights were all on and Nanoha was currently on the couch with several shells around her. "Signum and I borrowed your training field after your students were done," She slowly started taking off her uniform jacket. "They stayed to watch, I think we scared them." Fate stretched out gingerly, wincing. "How did your day go after we split up?"

"Spectacular," Nanoha replied with a smile evident in her voice. "All my students are exceptional. They have so much growth potential." She looked over at her room mate and giggled. "Elio too, he really surprised me. Did you teach him Sonic Move?"

"He learned it on his own by watching," Fate replied, sitting down next to her and looking at all the shells. "You're making cartridges?" She picked up the small bullet shaped item and turned it over in her hands. "These are short barrel shells, what for?"

"My students use the cartridge system but they can only use this type of ammunition for now. Although at their level they can make the ammo themselves, they're way too tired right now." She closed her eyes and concentrated, easily filling up the short shell before placing it in a box. "I made you some as well," Nanoha picked up two magnum reload sets and handed them to Fate. "I figured you'd be too tired to mess with them tonight."

"Thank you," Fate took the two sets of six bullets and observed them. "Wow you packed them full didn't you?"

"It's a little draining but if we can use one shell instead of two in a battle, it'll come in handy."

"S+ magic huh?" Fate let the idea run over her mind. "Why don't we take the exam for classification?"

"I'm happy where I am," Nanoha replied, finally finishing the last shell and closing the box. "I'll take it once I'm sure I'll pass it with flying colors. No need to tire myself out when an emergency may come up at any moment."

"Good idea." Fate looked over at her and smiled. "You're sweating."

"Oh?" She moved her hand across her forehead. "You're right. I guess I tired myself out." Moving to stand up, Nanoha wobbled a little bit. Fate leapt to her feet to ensure her friend didn't fall over. "Thank you," Nanoha leaned against her contently. "I made too many at one time, I guess."

The red eyed girl looked down at the table and for the first time noticed several boxes on the floor as well, each holding twelve rounds. "Nanoha! That kind of thing will tire anyone out! Never mind the ones you did for me!"

"I'll be fine after I sleep," she countered, rubbing against her neck. "Fate-chan is sweating too." Her head shifted so she was looking up at her. "Time to shower, I suppose?"

"Sure," Fate agreed, lifting Nanoha up and into her arms to carry her. Her friend let out a happy sound allowed herself to be carried upstairs to the bedroom. "Don't get used to being carried though. Did you lose a few pounds?"

"Nyahaha, I've missed a few meals lately due to all the work." Nanoha grinned sheepishly up at her friend. "But don't worry; I've been taking vitamins to count for it."

"That's not good, you need to eat. You'll get sick otherwise." Fate set the girl down on her feet inside the bathroom. "You take a shower first, I'll start putting some of our things up around the apartment."

"No way, we haven't been together in almost a month, let's shower together!" Nanoha took Fate's hand to keep her from walking out of the room. "I don't want to shower alone, it's not fun."

"But…"

"Fate," The word made the blond look at her friend, who was giving her a soft gaze. "Let's do it together, Fate." The two almost never referred to each other without the ever present honorific, first used because they were children then later kept as a way to remember the fun times they always had together. The only times it wasn't used were on the battlefield when one of them was scared or when…

Fate blushed darkly but still went to undo the buttons on her white shirt. The motion made her friend smile and she too started to undress after turning on the water and setting it to a temperature that she liked. The girl paused a moment, looking at the other buttons and testingly pressed one, making the illusion appear around them as if they were bathing under a waterfall. "Oh wow!" She cried out, amazed. "That's so cool!" Nanoha quickly stripped down and walked into the shower section, getting sprayed from the ceiling and two sides of the walls. "Fate-chan, Fate-chan, look!" She posed in a way so one of the giant leaves would cover her breast. "I'm the girl in shower commercials that always has something covenant covering her boobs!"

Fate couldn't help but laugh at her friend who had completely forgotten to take her hair form her ponytail. Upon realizing this, Nanoha went to take out the ribbon and then slowly try and get the tight ponytail holder out of her wet hair. She winced a few times trying to get the job done while Fate finished undressing, placing her cloths neatly in the clothes basket and picking up Nanoha's carelessly discarded cloths on the floor and also putting them up as well. "Owie," Nanoha whimpered from the shower, using the cute word just because. "I'm five hairs lighter." She rubbed her scalp gently.

"And thus the best flying Ace known to the TSAB gets defeated by a simple hair band." Fate stepped into the illusion and looked around. "I guess this kind of thing would be nice after the repetitive scenery of a military base, though I'd understand it more to be on a ship rather than a planet."

"Oh hush and enjoy it." Nanoha hugged her from behind, pressing her chest up against Fate's back. "Let me wash your back?"

"With your breast?" Fate teased her, looking over her shoulder.

"If you want," Nanoha teased back, getting that soft look in her eyes again. She let go of her friend and allowed her to take a single step away, out of the spray of water and moved her wet hair over her shoulder. "Sit," She commanded lightly, guiding the girl downwards. "Um…do we even have anything to wash with yet?"

Fate brought a hand up to her mouth to cover a giggle. "Nanoha you're too much." She turned and pointed "Right there, on top of the…Palm…leaf…"

"Oh you're right," Nanoha leaned over and picked up the bottle of body wash. "Isn't this the neatest?" She put a little bit on a lufa and lathered it up into a sudsy mass.

"Yeah, it is kind of neat." Fate reached out and touched the wall, making the illusion ripple around her finger tips. "I'm facing the wall but it seems like I have all the space I need." She felt Nanoha's body press up against hers again, only this time covered in soap. Her body went stiff a moment while Nanoha reached around her in a loose hug, rubbing her breast up against her back. "Na-Nanoha-chan?"

"Hmmm.?" She paused a moment. "No?"

"A-ah, I don't mind," She blushed darker, placing her face into both her hands to hide her blush. She heard her friend giggle lightly before once again their skin made contact. Fate closed her eyes tightly, body shivering lightly as the hot wet body behind her rubbed against her back. The motion lasted a little while longer before the girl doing it started to slow down and instead opted to just hug her tightly. She returned the hug by leaning back into it but a soft sob made her open her eyes again and turn her head. Nanoha had her eyes closed tightly with tears coming from them, quietly crying into her shoulder. "Nanoha-chan, what is it? What's wrong?" She turned within the hold and pulled the girl into her lap so she was sitting sideways between her knees. "What is it? Are you okay?"

"I'm scared," She managed out, holding onto her tighter. "For so long we've been apart, o-only seeing each other a week or so a month, sometimes less. Now-now we're here…" Nanoha pulled back enough to look up at her friend. "We're to-together again," He voice started to break more as she cried. "I'm scared I'm dreaming and I'll wake up at any moment! I'll be-be back on the Asura alone!"

"Nanoha…" Fate pulled the crying girl against her gently, shushing her quietly in her ear. "Don't be scared, this isn't a dream." She whispered to her, rubbing her arm with one hand and supporting her back with the other. "Ssshhh, don't cry, Nanoha. I'm here; I won't go anywhere I promise." She felt Nanoha nod against her neck but she still didn't let go. "I told you before right? We would both work hard to reach our goal, and then we would be together again." She gently kissed the girl's temple. "We're here now, Nanoha. It took us a while but for now on we will be together. We climbed the ranks and now we won't be separated."

"Really?" Nanoha looked up at her, the steam from the hot water showing the path her tears had traveled down her cheeks.

"Really," Fate cuddled her. "So don't cry. When you go to sleep tonight I'll be right there with you, and when you wake up I'll still be there… Unless I get hungry, in that case I'll be in the kitchen." The joke worked like she had hoped and Nanoha laughed. "So then, smile for me?" Her request was answered immediately and she couldn't help but lean down and kiss the girl.

"Fate?" Nanoha whispered against her lips, getting a soft humm in reply. "… I was going to wait until we were going to go to sleep but…" She leaned up and kissed her again, shifting her body so she had her arms around her. "If you want to…?"

"In the shower?" Fate gasped out in-between Nanoha's persistent kissing. She didn't get an answer verbally but soon found Nanoha's hand rubbing her stomach in a slow circle. Moments passed and soon the kissing grew more frantic, hands more daring. Before long Fate found herself pinned under the water spray, coming down on her from all sides and Nanoha soon on top of her, kissing sloppily in her passion.

* * *

Fate woozily walked out of the bathroom, dazed from the two hour long intimate relation she just spent with her girlfriend as well as getting overheated from staying in there so long. The bed was cool and she thankfully fell onto it face first, spreading out as if to make her body cool off as fast as it could. Her damp hair covered her naked body, serving to make her feel at least a little bit modest after their love making. Nanoha followed her example, falling onto the bed as well. She chose rather to lay on her back and cut the lights out to cover her body from sight. The two laid there quietly several moments before Fate finally got cold and crawled over to her friend to share her warmth.

Nanoha accepted gladly and embraced her lover lightly, kissing her neck and shoulder softly in greeting. A sudden impulse made her bite down, sucking harder than normal on the soft spot between her neck and shoulder. The action made Fate gasp out huskily, followed by a soft purring sound. She molded her body up next to hers and wrapped her arms around her back, rubbing in an encouraging motion to continue what she was doing. Nanoha eagerly accepted and started trailing kisses down Fate's collar bone, quickly making her way to her chest, where she proceeded to leave several small bruises from nipping and sucking on her skin. "Na-Nanoha!? Again?!"

"We might as well break the bed in too?" She purred, taking both her hands in her own and gently kissing down her stomach and going lower…

* * *

"Sir, it is morning, please wake up." Bardiche's electronic voice floated into the room at five AM sharp. "It is time for your morning run."

"Bardiche, be quiet…" Fate muttered, still half asleep. "Set snooze: five minutes." The girl heard a soft beep and lazily closed her eyes again, curling up next to a still sleeping Nanoha. The covers were pulled up to both their shoulders to cover their naked bodies and attempt to keep warm in the cold room. Just as soon as Fate started to drift off again, Bardiche's voice once again interrupted her. "Be quiet," She muttered once more. "Set Snooze: ten minutes…" Again the beep was heard and she wrapped her arms around her lover, making her mumble something about food and turn over so she was on her back. Fate shifted along with her, taking the moment to get under her arm and rest her cheek against her neck and shoulder. She felt herself be embraced halfly by the sleeping girl and once again started to drift off as well.

"Sir, please wake up and prepare for the day." Bardiche spoke again at the destined time.

Fate sighed, mentally running ideas through her head. "Bardiche, I didn't sleep much last night, please set snooze for 06:00 hours."

"Understood." The beep came a third time and Fate sighed out contently. The girl fell asleep again, peacefully dreaming once more. Time went by slowly for her as she stayed in a limbo between being asleep and awake, never quite reaching one or the other but still enjoying not having to move away from the woman she made love with the night before… twice.

"06:00 hours, Alarm set. Please wake up, my master." Raging Heart's voice spoke up, this time waking Nanoha.

"Sir, 06:00 hours has been breached, please wake up."

"Bardiche, if you don't let me sleep I'll break you…"

"Sir, please wake up, or the video recording of last night's events will be sent to Amy for blackmail."

"You wouldn't _dare!_" Fate was already across the room, holding Bardiche in her hands, glaring at it.

"Thank you for waking, sir. Have a great day."

Fate looked at her device and sighed, knowing that if she slept in anymore she wouldn't be able to do anything before having to get to work. Turning her head, she saw Nanoha greeting her inelegant devise with a brief kiss. "Good morning, Nanoha-chan."

"Morning," Nanoha yawned in mid greeting, wincing at the sore spots on her body. "Nyahaha, I'm beat."

"That makes two of us…"

* * *

Nanoha looked around the mess hall, half amazed at seeing it getting full and half a little disappointed because she wanted it to be mainly for her division instead of for everyone nearby. She spotted her four students and nodded over at Fate before heading over to them and sitting down. "Good morning," She greeted, getting salutes from everyone. "Oh stop that, the mess halls are a place where all rank is void, remember?" She smiled sweetly at them. "How are my cute students today? Ready for another day of learning?"

"Yes ma'am!" Subaru answered for the group. "We all ran into each other this morning to jog and decided to try and make it an every day thing together."

"That's wonderful, I'll join you tomorrow."

"Do you not normally run, Aunt Nanoha?" Elio asked, dropping the formalities as requested.

"Aunt!?"

Nanoha ruffled Elio's hair, missing the other's shocked faces. "Ah, I do. This morning I was too tired to, however." She reached into her purse and pulled out the boxes of ammo. "I was planning on giving these to you at practice but I might as well now since we met. Here you are, Subaru, Tia, and Elio. I made these last night, they should last you until you can make your own after training." She slid the boxes toward their respective owners.

"Wow… thank you," Subaru picked up a cartridge and smiled at it, feeling the magical power radiate inside of it.

"So Nanoha-san is your aunt?" Rushie asked, looking over at Nanoha.

"Ah, actually we're not related at all," Nanoha smiled down at the red haired boy next to her. "Fate is going to become his guardian, though her mother will be the official signed parent."

"So why would he call you 'aunt'?" Tia pondered aloud. "Ah, I'm sorry, I shouldn't pry!"

"It's okay," Nanoha laughed happily as Fate sat next to her and offered to share the plate of food she got. "Thank you, Fate-chan." She looked back over at the confused faces in front of her. "Ah, well, here's a hint." With that she leaned over and pecked Fate's cheek, making the three other girls at the table gasp out. "That's how it is," She confirmed, making Fate more confused now.

"How sweet!" Rushie exclaimed.

"Oh wow!" Subaru added in, blushing.

"Somehow I knew that," Tia scratched her head.

Nanoha smiled happily, taking in her new friends and students. '_Everything I going to work out great,_' she though to herself as she shared breakfast with Fate. '_I can't wait to get this day started!_'

* * *

Author's notes: I hope you liked this story, please leave a review if you have the time. I wrote this mainly for Syaoran Li Clow, and Tenkaichi, who both wanted a Nanoha-Fate fanfic, so dedicated to you two. I do listen to my reviews so if you want to say anything or request another story or anything, please feel free to. 


	2. Chapter 2

Beforehand: This is going into an A/U story, so please keep in mind that thigns will be differnt than what the series has offically stated.

* * *

"Hey everyone," I greeted the floating monitor display in front of me that was currently doubling as a recording device. "I hope you're all doing well." My lips turned up to a smile as my gaze looked through the yellowish square and to the picture of my family. "I'm sorry I haven't been able to get in contact with everyone for a while..." I giggled. "A long while… But please forgive me, I've been really busy. As you can see, I'm not on the Asura anymore." I lead the display around with me as I walked to the railing that went around my bedroom and looked over onto the other part of my loft. "I have a steady home now; it's on base but it is actually mine. When I retire this apartment will still be here for me, Hayate-chan made sure of it. Oh! Fate-chan lives with me too." Turning back to the display, I gave a peace sign. "We're still dating, this makes almost six years now. Sometimes I wish we would take the final step but it's been so busy I haven't even had time to bring it up with her yet…" I waved my hand to brush it off. "But that's not what this is about. You'll be proud of me; I'm officially in charge of training here at the sixth mobile division. I have four people right now under me and even though we've only been here for two weeks, I'm confident that they will do just fine whenever we dispatch." My head turned to the sound of my door opening and saw Fate walk in. "Fate-chan, come say hi to my family!" 

**TSAB: 6****th**** mobile division II**

**By: Satashi**

"Video letter?" Fate pondered as she walked up the stairs.

"Yeah!" Nanoha turned the screen to focus onto the blond. "Fate-chan is in charge of actual missions, though she seems to be bogged down with paperwork lately," She narrated as her friend got closer.

"Hello everyone," Fate bowed to the camera. "Have you told them yet?"

"Just about to," Nanoha hopped around to stand beside Fate. "I will be able to come visit around Christmas time! I know it's a long way away, but I already put in for leave." The girl blushed lightly. "I asked Fate-chan to come too and she said she would, so I'm looking forward to being with all my family. "

"I can't wait," Fate added in with a smile and a wave.

"So, I'll see you then… I love you guys." Her blue eyes started to tear up a little. "I miss you." She gave a small wave and cut off the recording device before she had to sniff and wipe her eyes. "Hard to believe I haven't seen them in almost two years now."

"Ever since Chrono became an Admiral and couldn't use his ship as a middle point for teleportation," Fate agreed, sitting on the bed. "I remember him and Amy having to go through the teleporting logs and erase it so no one would know you were skirting your duties to see your family back on Earth."

"Haha, you make it sound like it was a _bad_ thing!"

"If we were caught we'd all be demoted!" Fate grinned despite the seriousness of her words. "Wow, we broke a lot of rules back then didn't we?"

"Nyahaha, makes me wonder what our students are doing right now while we're not watching over them." Nanoha smiled at her and crawled on the bed behind her, starting to rub her shoulders. "You're tense…"

"Don't even start." Fate turned and grabbed the hands. "I don't have time today."

"Spoilsport," Nanoha pouted. "I have almost two hours to kill."

"I only have half an hour."

"What are you plans?" The girl fell back onto their large bed and stared up at the ceiling.

"Going to lunch with Hayate-chan before dropping her off at the church, then heading over to check up on some Intel while I'm over at the main base. There's supposed to be some new model of gadget and I want to get the information as soon as I can."

"Bring me back a folder please?"

"Of course," Fate turned to look at her. "You're panty-shotting again." Her words got a half hearted attempt to fix the mini skirt. "Still," She teased.

"Meh, you've seen them anyway." Nanoha gave up and sprawled out in an X shape. Several second ticked by before she found Fate crawling on top of her. "Oh no," She crossed her arms. "If you don't have enough time to nap then you don't have enough time to….hey…stop that… s-stop…Ah…. Fate-chan we can't….we –nng-… don't have time…to do…this… ahnn…okay-five-minutes!" She grabbed her neck and pulled her down.

* * *

"You're late," Hayate accused when the blond woman finally got into her car that was waiting outside the residential area. "Honestly Fate-chan, if it was anyone else…" 

"Then I'd be more worried about my status than feeling bad I made them wait," Fate finished for her as she sat down and buckled up. "Sorry, Hayate-chan. Nanoha wouldn't let me leave."

"It's all right," Hayate glanced at her mirror before driving off. "Did she try to put you to sleep again?"

"Attempted to."

Hayate looked over at the slightly red girl and noticed that she had obviously been sweating recently. "You're not sick are you?"

"Eh? Um, no." Fate tried to finger comb her hair, even going as far as to flip down the sun visor to look at the mirror on the back of it.

"…Oh!" Hayate blushed. "Mou, no wonder you're late."

"We didn't do anything bad."

"I don't need to know my two best friend's love lives," She complained. "So please don't do anything to even hint at it, especially when I'm waiting on you!"

"We didn't I promise!" Fate reached over to touch her shoulder but the girl moved away playfully.

"I don't know where those fingers have been," She stuck out her tongue.

Fate instantly felt her cheeks color and ears burn. "We just kissed, stop teasing me!"

* * *

Nanoha scratched her cheek lightly as she stepped over a dazed Subaru. "Did I go a little overboard?" she pondered aloud while scanning the area. Tia was laid on the ground as well, panting heavily. Caro fell to her hands and knees, trying to suck in a little more air. "Where's Elio?" her vision caught Caro's lips, turned upwards lightly in a smile. "Uh oh," 

The concrete under Nanoha exploded into shrapnel instantly, forcing the girl to take to the air. "No you don't!" Subaru yelled out as her wing road flashed above the instructor, cutting off her escape path.

"Not here either!" Tia shot several blast to the side, making sure Nanoha couldn't veer that way either. Both of the girl's false images on the ground vanished now that they were no longer needed as a distraction.

Looking down, Nanoha saw Elio shooting upwards at her, spear extended. The ruble from his exit was still flying thick, cutting off her vision with the dust. '_Only one way out,_' she mused, instantly flying directly backwards. The back of her neck itched slightly, making the battle veteran smile to herself. Caro had apparently put a delayed binding spell there. '_I could twirl my way through it,_' she thought quickly, seeing Elio break through the dust and prepare to strike her. '_But with this kind of teamwork, I think letting them win would be a more of a moral boost to encourage this in the future…holes can be worked on later._'

Elio let out a war cry, thrusting forward with everything he had. His spear clashed violently against Nanoha's shield, flaring out a magical ripple around them. "Break through!" his words were screamed out, arm struggling to keep up the momentum. A pink flare of energy ripped into him, cursing through his veins and out into his weapon. The tip exploded in light and shattered Nanoha's barrier, allowing it to cleanly sink into her barrier jacket.

Nanoha turned her body quickly to avoid any damage to her shoulder, also allowing the child to soar past her since he couldn't stop the momentum of the attack. The group went still as the dust settled, each holding their breath to see if the mission was a success or not. "Mission finished," Raising Heart declared as Nanoha landed. Looking over her shoulder, she smiled lightly to herself at the sight of Elio caught in the binding spell Caro had put it. "Status: Complete."

"Congratulations," Nanoha informed them, pointing to the ripped cloth of her jacket. "Mission complete, you cut through my defenses."

"Oh thank god," Subaru fell to the ground and panted out. "I can't move…"

"Whoa…" Tia rubbed her shoulders ruefully. "Talk about intense… Great job, Caro."

"It was nothing…" The pink haired girl's arms were shaking lightly. Trying to push herself up only made her fall, however, and she chose to lay there to rest a moment. "Hehe, I can't move." She looked up at her friends with a light smile.

"Here," Elio finally managed to get down from the floating chains and knelt down in front of her, offering his back. "I'll carry you to the base?"

"…Thank you," She managed to get up enough to fall over onto him when she realized her legs were too tired to support her as well. The red headed youth grunted lightly under her minute weight but managed to stand up while giving the piggy-back ride.

'_All that with their own devices,_' Nanoha's eyes went from Subaru's smoking roller blades to Tia's sparking gun. Even though Elio's spear was put back into its unit form she got enough sight on it during the attack to know it was cracking under all the stress it was going under. '_Caro is also having a hard time since she can't use cartridges…I think it's time for them to receive their official weapons and armor._' Clapping her hands together, she called everyone's attention. "Okay people, for now let's all go to the 6th division's HQ and get cleaned up. Once you've had a shower we will meet in the lobby okay?"

"Ma'am!"

* * *

"Bardiche?" Fate asked, looking at Shari on the display. "I suppose it's time for a tune up, why this all of a sudden?" The girl ate a bite of her meal while waiting for a response. 

"Nanoha is going to give the recruits their official devices today; I thought it would be good if we tuned up yours and hers as well."

"How long will it take?" Fate looked down at her hand towards the yellow triangle gem embedded on her glove. She had never liked going anywhere without her life-long partner, even if it _was_ getting a check up.

"Well normally it would only take a few hours, but since its you we're talking about… Two days maybe?"

She sighed. "All right, I can live with that. Don't do anything he doesn't want, all right?"

Shari gave her friend an amused look. "Like I ever would." Turning, the girl looked behind herself. "I have to go, it looks like they're all here now. I need to explain how their devices work and such."

"See you, Shari." Fate sighed when the screen disappeared, leaving her alone once again to eat her meal. Hayate was at the cathedral doing her meeting and she had already obtained all the information she could while at the local Intel center so she was stuck with waiting for her friend to give her a ride back home. '_Too bad Hayate had to go in early, I hate eating alone…_'

* * *

"…So they won't feel out of place, even if you've never used them before," Nanoha continued while walking with her troops back towards the training area. Shari had just given them all a one over on how their new devices worked but the teacher in Nanoha made her continue to rant as they continued along their way. 

"Um…"

"What is it, Elio-kun?" The instructor paused to turn back and look at him.

"I love our new uniforms but…Strada doesn't really look any different…"

"Have you tried asking him?"

"Eh?"

Nanoha knelt down in front of him and put a hand on top of his head. "Strada is now alive, Elio-kun. Even if his intelligence is artificial… He has a heart. For now on you two will be working together, so be good friends okay?"

Gazing down at the smooth metal in his hands, the boy took in a breath. "Strada… How do you feel?"

"100, sir." It replied briskly. "Are you in good condition?"

"Y-yes!" he looked surprised that it would ask him. "So this is an intelligent device…" His mouth turned up into a grin. "Let's become great partners, all right!?"

"Yes sir!"

With a light giggle the woman stood up again. "So then, I have a special playground in mind for you to get used your new devices," Nanoha moved out her hands to summon keyboards in the air. "The object of this training exercise is to have fun and get the feel for what you can do. I don't mind what activities you choose to do inside the field, just don't go to sleep on me okay?" Her words got a few laughs, making her smile as well. "Okay, here we-"

"Nanoha!" Shari's voice broke in over hers as a display screen appeared right in front of her followed by several flashing red screens that read Alert. "We have a lock on a relic! Can you dispatch!?"

The woman turned to look at her students. Several things went through her mind all at once, but one thing locked into place when seeing the determined expressions all glaring at her. "Yes."

"Then bring everyone to the central building!" The screens cut off, leaving them alone once again.

"This is it, your first mission." Nanoha spoke officially to them. "All of you are up to this, correct?"

"Ma'am!"

"Good," She waved out her hand. "Then sixth mobile unit, move out!"

* * *

"Seven trucks," Shari informed quickly. "They are all exporting legal supplies but one of them has the readings of a Lost Logia. Your mission is to get to that truck and retrieve it, preferably before gadget drones can make the scene more difficult." 

Fate nodded to herself, forcing her car through traffic. A screen to her right showed Nanoha with her students and another next to it showed Hayate in a car as well. "Request permission for personal flight," The blond spoke out as she downshifted and puller her emergency brake, making her car slide sideways. Halfway into the spin she counter-steered sharply and hit the gas, smoking her tires. Her hand shoved the handle brake back down and allowed her wheels to grip pavement again, slinging her around the turn without losing any of her speed.

"Scary…" Nanoha whispered, feeling herself sweat lightly.

"Permission requested," Hayate acknowledged her as her hands typed around in front of herself. "…granted for mage Fate." She was glad the church was giving her a ride back thanks to the emergency call.

"Can someone give me a ride back here to reclaim my car once it's over?"

"I can," Nanoha replied easily.

"Then I'm parking and flying the rest," She cut another power slide into a parking lot and leapt out of her door.

"Here I am, so nervous I can't breathe straight," Subaru began, getting Tia to look over at her. "And they talk about where they're parking her car…" The girl looked around the small holding area of the helicopter they were currently in. There were no windows, making her feel rather closed in. "Amazing how they're used to this…"

"That's how Aces work huh?" Tia whispered back, swallowing. "Something as simple as this is child's play to them…"

"Us too," Elio joined in, gripping his watch with one hand. "We're ready." He received two sharp nods and could tell the females suddenly felt more secure about themselves. His gaze went back over to Caro next to him and then go down to her lap, where she was nervously rubbing her hands. "Hey, you okay?"

"Eh? Um, yes." She tried to smile at him. "Just nervous."

"Don't be, I'll protect you so you can cast without any worries okay?" He reached over and placed his hand on top of hers.

"Elio-kun…"

"Emergency reading!" Shari called out, face appearing on the screen again. Several monitors flared around them momentarily to warn them. "New gadget type device spotted in the vicinity of the trucks, they're airborne models we've never encountered before!"

"Nanoha-chan, Fate-chan, can you handle those?" Hayate's display came to the foreground of the others floating in the air. "Vice-kun, can you manage without their cover fire?"

Yet another display appeared in the air, showing the brown headed pilot. "Don't underestimate me, Hayate-chan! I'll fly circles around whatever they let by!"

"We won't let any by," Nanoha challenged.

"Ohh? If you do, even one, drinks are on you tonight babe!" Vice grinned.

"It's a bet!" Nanoha smiled and held out Raising Heart. "But don't get mad when you're treating me!"

Caro fidgeted in her seat. "They're so relaxed…"

"Its like a switch," Nanoha kneeled down in front of the pink haired girl. "One thing that you will eventually have to learn to do as well." Her hands went to both of the younger soldier's shoulders. "Listen you two… This is a real battle now, so look after each other… I won't lie, it may get ugly down there, but you are both strong. Just remember… what you do down there is for the sake of countless innocent people you will be protecting from this dangerous substance. Be strong you two, go all out, and when you're done, let it go. Don't reflect on it, just let it go."

Elio swallowed thickly. "Yes ma'am."

"Okay…" Caro looked even more nervous.

"Caro-san," Nanoha took both of her hands in her own. "You're a sweet girl, and I know you have a great passion to protect everyone around you… you have a very special power that will allow you to do that, so embrace it. Because of you and your lovely gentle power of protection, I'm not worried about any of you."

"…Thank you."

Nanoha stood and looked over at the two older members. "And you two…"

"Make it fast, Nanoha-chan!" Vice yelled out suddenly. "We're about to engage!"

The teacher grinned. "Kick booty out there, okay?" She gave them a thumbs up.

"Ma'am!" They both saluted.

Nanoha giggled lightly before turning to look at the opening hatch. All at once her eyes narrowed and her fist clenched. "Raising Heart…"

"Yes master?"

"Set up!" The girl screamed as she leapt from the vehicle, wind flaring around her as her cloths shattered into the sky. Her body was kissed by the clouds, the soft mist clinging to her body. The sky blessed her with its color, stringing through the white cloud residue. Finally the sun loaned her its warmth, solidifying the elements to form her barrier jacket. Raising Heart was already in its staff form, shooting out a cartridge to instantly change into accel shooting mode. Her eyes lost their shine, no longer kind and caring. Tight gloved hands gripped the cool metal as magical energy ripped through her veins, cursing with a power that her enemies would soon never forget. "Raising Heart," Even her voice was no longer gentle but now firm and set.

"I know, my master." The voice was soothing to its master, making the girl loosen up just a little. "I will protect you. Sealing cartridge loaded in reserve clip."

"…Thank you." Nanoha launched herself into combat.

"Okay you guys," Hayate looked at the four remaining people in the helicopter. She was now running through hallways while speaking to them. "Here is your mission: You will be divided into two groups, Stars and Lightning. The object we are after is being carried by a standard eighteen wheeler truck and trailer. Currently it is with a group of other trucks that are constantly swapping positions so we can't be sure which one currently has the lost logia. Of course the recovery is our primary focus so whoever gets to the correct truck first will secure it."

"Understood," The four replied at the same time as Hayate finally made it to her commanding room and claimed her chair. Her supporters were in chairs in front of her, bringing up maps and other information for the girl to read.

"Vice-kun, are the charges set?"

"Rodger!" Vice's voice called out cheerfully.

"To avoid further confusion and conflict, once you investigate a truck you will set a time bomb that will release a short ranged EMP, forcing the truck to slow down and stop."

"Ma'am, why don't we just stop them first?" Subaru questioned.

"The Electro Magnetic Pulse could activate the lost logia, releasing any power it has stored." She narrowed her eyes. "I trust I don't have to explain what would happen if it went out of control because of a mistake?"

"N-no ma'am…" Subaru shivered lightly. "We'll be precise and efficient."

"Since this is your first mission I'll repeat myself to sooth any uneasiness you may have," Hayate smiled at them now, making them lighten up. "Get to the trucks, inspect the cargo, if it isn't what we want, set the time bomb and get onto the next truck and repeat. We will pick you up by air once you retrieve it and then remotely stop the remaining trucks."

"And the drivers of the trucks?" Elio questioned.

"Gadget drones have already taken them over," Shari informed regretfully. " New mission objective is to rescue the seven drivers."

"Rodger!"

"Then prepare to deploy!" Hayate threw out her hand as the helicopter veered away and down to the road, where seven unmarked truck and trailers were speeding along the highway. Now with an area to look at, the four soldiers stood up and braced themselves to jump out when they were close enough. The air shook them lightly as a shockwave from one of Nanoha's attacks flew by, forcing Elio to grab Caro's hand so she wouldn't fall over.

Nanoha twirled around enemy fire, forcing herself through a thicket of drones. Once by, she looped around and passed by them again, flipping over the group and spinning them around before destroying them. "Is that enough?" she asked into the wind, pausing to hover in her spot and plan out her next wave of attacks against the innumerable mechanical army.

"Yes, we have a full model now," Shari confirmed. "Thanks for the video feed, we'll start recording their statistics when you engage for real."

"Rodger." Nanoha loaded a cartridge into her staff and aimed, ripping a hole through the mass of metal.

"_I'm here, Nanoha._" Fate thought to her friend when she was in range of telepathic communication. "_Brief?_"

"_There are too many to count,_" She replied in kind, looking around until she spotted her girlfriend. "_The forwards are on the trucks below, we are to secure the air and protect them. I have their data so destroy as many as you can._"

"_I'm going in, cover fire for me?_"

"_Always, Fate-chan_." Nanoha braced herself in the air, eyes focusing in on her opponents. "Accel shooter….forty bullet mode!" The balls of energy appeared around her quickly before each doubling in size. '_One through twenty, follow Fate and protect her… the rest seek and destroy…_'

Tia landed with a loud clang on top of the first truck, followed closely by Subaru. Across from them, several lengths down the road, their two team mates landed on the last truck. "I'll take this one," Tia began, standing. "You get on the next one, I'll hop to the third when the first is disabled."

"Sure." Subaru unlocked her wheels on her new blades and instantly slid down the top of the truck. "Wha, whoa!" Flailing, she tried to regain her balance.

"Wing road," Mach Caliber's calm voice floated up to her, forming the road and making the path to the next truck as simple as gliding forward.

"Th-thank you!" Subaru recomposed herself and got serious. "You're amazing, doing what I was thinking before I even reacted…"

"I was created to serve your will." Subaru dodged to the side to avoid a sudden laser beam shot at her. "Assault grip." Mach Caliber stated again, locking the wheels to the metal as she rolled, giving the girl complete control. Seconds passed and the drones that had attacked her were destroyed.

"Nanoha-san said you had a heart…" Subaru smiled. "So I don't want you to serve me… Instead, how about we work together?"

"…We shall see, in time."

The sky lit up with a brief flash of yellow lightning followed closely by black smoke and raining metal pieces. Fate's long hair flew out behind her as the electricity flared more, shorting out several of the enemy devices. "_They seem to be thinning_," She mentally informed her friend, who had just blasted several drones attempting to attack the blond from behind. "_How are our soldiers?"_

"_Looks like the last truck is stopping. I think Tia is inspecting the first while Subaru is defeating the drones from both the leading vehicles._"

"_And my children?_"

"_Moving onto the next to last truck right now._" Nanoha shot several more bullets before being forced to move and take to aerobatic evasive movements. "_Fate-chan, I'm going to charge starlight breaker to finish this, can you thin out the ones not collected in the center?_"

"_Yes,_" Fate loaded several cartridges, changing into her sonic form and launching herself to the outskirts of the aerial battle. Bardiche's pulsating blade flared out around her before slashing forward and cleaving several into pieces.

"Energy of the stars, head to my call…" Nanoha's hair lifted up slowly as glowing pink energies flowed around her and began to form. "Planet…Sky….Sun…Air… loan me some of your energy…" The clip in her staff emptied itself, speeding up the process. "All living things spare me some of your will to-" Her heartbeat resounded in her ears, stopping the chant. Silence reigned over her, broken only by another heartbeat thundering her ears. '_No… not now…not now!_' her hands started to sweat as Raising Heart was shakily held onto.

* * *

"Hayate!" Shari gasped out in fear. "Nanoha-san's vital signs just jumped off the chart!" 

"What!?" Hayate stood up frantically. "Display me her status!" Several screens appeared in front of her, showing her increasing heartbeat and blood pressure. "Oh no…"

"She's going into a seizure!" Shari screamed, hands dancing over the keyboards, bringing up a visual of the girl in the air.

"Fate-chan!" Hayate forced an emergency battle contact onto her. "Nanoha-chan's blood is going yellow!"

"What's going on!?" One of the other members asked, looking over her shoulder.

"You will be informed later," Hayate tried to calm herself down as Fate turned her flight path to head to her friend, not bothering to reply.

* * *

"Nanoha!" Fate made it next to her lover and put up a shield around them. 

"I…can handle… this…" She replied shakily, obviously in pain. "Go…"

"No! I-"

"I said _go_!" She screamed, pushing Fate away. "They need… to be covered… or they'll…get hurt!" Slowly the girl flew away backwards, leaving the shield. "Cover me… Fate-chan…"

The blond looked down sadly at her before nodding. "I'm coming back in three minutes…"

"By then I'll be smiling at you…" Nanoha allowed herself to freefall away from her.

* * *

Elio gasped out as the truck he was standing on suddenly had a hole ripped through the top of it. A drone he had never seen before rose up steadily, using one mechanical tentacle to hold onto something that looked like a briefcase with locks on it. "That has to be it…" 

"Be careful, Elio-kun!" Caro ran along the truck that was currently slowing down thanks to her bomb and leapt onto the one her partner was currently occupying.

"Caro!" Elio flashed forward, pushing her out of the way of a large piece of metal thrown at her. The pink haired girl gasped, looking to her side as Elio was flung off the truck from the force of it. As if in slow motion she watched in horror while her friend's body fell down, slowly being removed from view.

"Elio-kun!" Her mind instantly launched out a pink set of chains, looping around his wrist. The chains went taut quickly, forcing the girl over onto her stomach and pulling her along the truck as Elio continued to fall. '_I can't pull him up_!' She cried out in fear, tears coming to her eyes as the chains buried into her hands.

All at once the girl stopped sliding and felt something around her waist. Looking up, she saw Tia holding her with one arm while aiming her gun at the device with her other. Several shots rang out, making the thing drop the briefcase. Subaru was already ahead of everyone else, quickly grabbing it as she flew by on her wing road.

Elio gasped out, quickly pulling on the chain connected to his wrist to get the attention of his friend. Metal sparks flew all around him, grinding off the metal piece that was beneath his feet. The boy street-surfed on top of the shrapnel, not holding back his amused grin when Caro looked over the side of the truck at him. "Pull me up!?" He asked, gripping his spear.

"Yes!" Caro let a magic field fly beneath her, summoning her power. "Grant this young knight the power to fly," She breathed out, sending the energy through the chain that connected them. "Bless upon him the blade of warriors…" Her partner flew up beside her quickly, using the momentum to keep up with the truck while in the air. "And the speed of an assassin!"

Elio let out his war cry, holding Strada above his head in preparation to strike. "Caro's Knight," He named his attack as he descended. "Seek!" His blade cut through the defensive barrier and armor, revealing the core to the monster. "And destroy!" His body turned, thrusting his spear into it.

* * *

Nanoha panted out weakly, shakily turning Raising Heart's shaft. The loading bay was finally covered completely, revealing her emergency single cartridge loading area. "Loading," Raising Heart spoke, instantly doing what was needed so she wouldn't have to. "Are you ready, my master?" 

"Ye….Yes…" Nanoha aimed the tip towards herself. "Begin…sealing…" Her heartbeat resounded again, making her hands shake. Suddenly she was trying to force Raising Heart away from herself. "Cancel order," Her words sounded colder all of a sudden, wisp of yellow flecking the iris of her eyes.

"Request denied." Raising Heart fired the blast, engulfing the brown haired girl in a sphere of blue light. "Sealing." The light shrank down quickly, covering her body in a light haze. "…Sealed. Are you all right, my master?"

Nanoha cried softly. "It hurts…"

"Please stay still."

"I can't," Nanoha slowly pushed herself up. "I have to shoot it… I have to help Fate-chan…"

"You are in no condition to battle," It told her. "Please rest, Master."

"Let's shoot it," Nanoha hefted her staff and twisted the head back to reveal her cartridge loading dock and slamming a clip into it. "Load complete, begin countdown." Her eyes closed. "_Fate-chan?"_

"_Are you okay?_"

"_Move, I'm shooting Starlight."_

Fate didn't argue with her but instead flew down to the ground.

* * *

Vice looked over to the side and whistled when he saw the high mass of energy flaring into the sky. "Looks like things up there are cleared out now." 

"Guess so," Subaru agreed, looking up in awe as shrapnel fell. The group stood on the side of the road, relic safely in hand and drivers all accounted for.

"Mission complete," Shari informed them. "We are dispatching a clean-up crew right now, the rest of you head back to base for some well deserved rest."

"Yes ma'am!" They all saluted the image, but Subaru looked back up into the sky. "Where are Nanoha-san and Fate-san…?"

* * *

Nanoha weakly opened her eyes, realizing that she felt rather safe and secure for some reason. "Hey there," Fate whispered down at her, getting the girl to look up and behind herself. "How do you feel?" 

"Fine," She replied softly as she realized that she was laying against her lover's chest with her back. Fate's arms were wrapped around her loosely, simply holding the girl. "How are you?"

"A few scratches but fine," The red eyed girl replied honestly. "Really…?"

"I'm weak from shooting Starlight."

"You know what I mean, Honey."

Nanoha closed her eyes. "It's sleeping again."

"Good," Fate held her closer.

"Can we stay like this for a few minutes?"

"Yes. Yes, we can. As long as you want to."

* * *

"What happened to Nanoha?" Shari finally asked, looking back over at Hayate. 

The brown haired girl turned off the display showing her two best friends and sat down into her chair with a relieved sigh. "She's okay…"

"Ma'am!" Shari pressed on, obviously displeased at not knowing what was going on.

"It's a long story…" Hayate leaned forward, remembering. "This is classified information, so nothing leaves this room all right?" Several nods greeted her so she continued. "It was several years ago, not long after I became a ranking officer in the TSAB… Nanoha-chan and Fate-chan were sent on a mission, their first mission with a limiter. The two didn't fight very well, both being reduced from triple A to regular A…" She took a breath before going on. "The two were caught, taken prisoner, and later rescued. They split up… Fate-chan met up with Signum to take out the drones, one of the first times we fought them… Nanoha-chan went after people who had a Lost Logia, a Jewel Seed to be exact."

"Jewel Seed?" Shari blinked.

"It's a type of Lost Logia that a certain civilization made," Hayate explained to her. "They can manifest themselves into a physical form, or they can attach to a host, giving them a huge upgrade in power. Although they normally react to strong feelings and desires, the each have their own personality. Some good, some bad, some indifferent. The one that day, however, was clearly evil." The girl looked over her hands to the people in the room, each hanging onto her every word. "A blast was fired, powered by the logia. In order to save countless people, Nanoha had to try and overpower the attack and absorb whatever was left into a shield. She managed to counter most of the attack with her own, but because of her limiter she couldn't completely do it and ended up being wounded…mortally…"

"But she's alive and fine now…?"

"Let me finish," Hayate scolded her gently, already saddened by the story she was telling. "Vita found her, alone and dieing on the battlefield. She called for a medical team at the same time as Fate-chan and Signum checked in with us… Due to the weak AMF fields from damaged robots, the transmission wasn't clear; Fate-chan and Signum only heard Vita say that Nanoha was dieing, and then a scream…" She looked down. "Fate-chan… found… the people who were responsible." Her words made Shari swallow. Obviously 'found' wasn't the only thing that happened. "She recovered the logia and was informed Nanoha was still alive. She rushed to her and when she was dieing in her arms, Nanoha-chan told Fate-chan that she loved her."

"Oh my…"

"Fate-chan's feelings activated the sealed Jewel Seed… Nanoha-chan's desire to live and Fate-chan's fear of losing someone she loved mixed together and before they realized it, the Jewel Seed merged with Nanoha, healing her completely."

"Completely? Just like that?"

"Jewel seeds merge with things to make their desire come true. The Seed attached itself and healed the wounds, but also was bound to her in the process. As I said, they each have their own personality…"

"So it's a parasite?"

"More like a symbionite. A parasite finds things and latches onto them to feed off it…They can be removed. A symbionite merges with their host…becoming one with them."

"So Nanoha-san…?"

"Has a corrupt Jewel seed grafted into her body. Every now and then it will awaken and try to take over her body, but we can seal it thanks to Shamal's medical knowledge. The only thing is, we only thought we would have to do it once. Several years later it came back, and a few years after that…and then the next year… then months…"

"It's losing its effect?"

"…Yes. Now Nanoha randomly suffers from 'episodes', where the seed will awaken and she has to seal it before it takes her over from the inside out. We're currently looking desperately for a way to save her but…"

"Okay," Shari rubbed her eyes. "Okay. I got it. Thank you."

The girl in charge looked down sadly. '_The episodes are getting closer and closer together…It's only a matter of time until…_'

* * *

"And that concludes the de-briefing," Rein finished up, smiling at the people in front of her. "Does anyone need a check up, even for just minor scrapes or bruises that may seem to hurt more than they should? You never know if a poison has been used." The group looked at each other a moment before all shaking their heads. "Very well then," Rein turned to the oldest girls of the group. "Fate-san, Nanoha-san, how are you two?" 

"Tip-top!" Nanoha cheered happily.

"I'm fine, thank you," Fate replied softly, looking over at her friend.

"Then that's it." Rein let the displays around her fade away. "You are all free to go!"

"What now?" Tia asked her instructor, wondering if there was anything else, despite being told they could do what they wanted.

"To Fuji's!" Nanoha replied, smiling down at her.

"Fuji's?" Subaru asked, leaning over to get a look at her. "What's that?"

Fate looked at her partner. "Nanoha, we are _not_ going to Fuji's tonight. We are going straight home."

"Oh don't be such a spoil sport!" The brown haired girl put a hand on her hip. "It's tradition!"

"For the air force!" Fate gasped out. "You are _not_ taking them to Fuji's! Especially not Elio-kun and Caro-san!"

"Oh they'll be fine." Nanoha waved off the notion and leaned forward, smiling brightly. "I really want to go after today, all right?" She put on her best puppy dog eyes she could and felt her lips slowly move up in a smile when Fate's resolve weakened. "All right!"

"What's Fuji's?" Caro asked Elio in a whisper.

"I don't know, but it sounds like fun."

* * *

"Nanoha-san drives a van?" Tia asked, shocked, as her teacher pulled up in front of the residential area. They had all changed into civilian clothing and had been waiting for their superiors to come pick them up. "Fate-san has the newest model of a racing car and Nanoha-san has a mini van…" 

"I _like_ my Van!" Nanoha protested as her friends piled in. "Much better than Fate-chan's car, it can only hold two people."

"Hey, my car is nice!" Fate cried out, obviously offended. "It can run a quarter mile in seven seconds!"

"And gets, what, six miles to the gallon?" Nanoha stuck out her tongue.

"So," Elio interrupted before the two would argue with each other. "Nanoha-san,"

"Drop the formalities, we're going off base," Nanoha smiled at him through the rearview mirror.

"Aunt Nanoha," He continued, "What is Fuji's exactly?"

"You'll see when we get there. It's a tradition to go to a place like this on the first successful mission. I was about Subaru-san and Tia-san's age when I first went myself." The words made Fate snort out, apparently remembering something funny connected to what was just said. "Anyway," she went on before said memory could be shared, "Vita-chan and Vice-kun are going to meet us there."

"I see," Elio mused, leaning back in the seat.

The van headed into the city at a steady pace, turning into the back allies after a while and then into the flashy night-life style of town. "And here we are!" Nanoha smiled, shifting her van into park. "And there's Vita's car!" She hopped out to go pounce on the smaller girl.

"Mount Fuji's," Subaru read the name of the neon sign. "…This is a bar isn't it?"

"Night Club," Fate corrected. "But they have alcohol, yes." She lead the rest of the troops to the door and waved to the bouncer as they passed by. "The owner here was a friend of Nanoha's family back on Earth, er, non-administrated planet ninety-seven." The music inside was rather loud so she spoke up while leading them over to a table. "Believe it or not, they have really good food here."

"I see," Subaru looked around, eyeing a scantily clad girl with a slight blush on her face. "Is this place all right for the little ones?"

"No," Fate gave them a light smile. "But Nanoha-chan has been looking forward to continuing the tradition of celebrating for a while now so…" She covered Elio's eyes. "Don't stare, it's not polite."

"S-sorry!" He went rigid at being caught. "I didn't mean too!"

"Stop staring," Tia elbowed Subaru in the ribs, making the girl flush.

"She's hot…" The girl protested, making Tia blush a moment then turn away in slight annoyance.

"Welcome!" A man greeted them as they sat down. "Oh, Fate-san!"

"Haseo," she greeted with a smile. "How are you?"

"Been great, how about yourself? Haven't seen you in a while?"

"We were re-stationed, I'm sure you heard?"

Haseo smirked. "The new 6th mobile division, I read all about it in the papers." He nodded over to the group with the blond. "These your troops?"

"They are," Fate pointed as she talked. "Subaru, Tia, Elio, and the little girl hiding behind him is Caro."

"I see," Haseo walked over to the table where the younger members were and leaned over. "Hey there," His silver hair reflected a little of the light at the club. "If anyone here gives you trouble, just get my attention and I'll toss'm out okay?"

"Sure," Elio nodded, now liking this person.

"Thank you," Caro replied, coming from behind Elio.

"It's their first time, I think Caro is a little nervous." Fate offered the man, reaching over to pet the girl.

"Well in that case, I'll whip up something that'll make her want to come back!" Haseo gave a short bow to the small girl before executing a fluid back flip to get back to the head of the table. A pad was tossed up from the pouch on his waist and a pen followed suit. The items twirled in the air a moment before being caught. "May I take your order?"

"Haseo is showing off again," Nanoha greeted the bartender with a smile, hopping onto a stool. Vita followed her actions and leaned up against the counter as well. "You're not keeping an eye on him."

"Nanoha-chan!" The man smiled brightly. "My, it's been almost three weeks since you last came in, I was about to go see if you was okay!"

"Nya haha," Nanoha smiled at him and leaned over the bar to give him a hug. "Sorry about that, Kuhn. Been real busy. I brought my friends with me, though." She pointed to the table. "We had our first mission today so I'm treating them."

Kuhn flipped his long blue ponytail over his shoulder. "I see. Drinks all around?"

"Yup!" She nodded happily. "Oh, um, when is your next restock run…?"

"This week," He winked. "Another letter?"

"Please?" She handed over a small package containing the DVD she recorded earlier. "You're the only one who can do it…"

"I don't mind at all. Gives me a reason to see my friends again." He put it behind the bar. "What would you like?"

"Fuzzy Navel for me, the usual for Fate-chan, um, give my other girls something easy since this is probably their first time."

"And for you?" Kuhn turned to Vita.

"Give me a daiquiri, a real daiquiri and don't bring me one of those sissy-fied neon slushies either!"

"Snappy today, Vita-chan." Kuhn made small talk as he went about making the drinks. "Some poor fool try to toss you out?"

"Your bouncer pulled me off before I could hurt the guy," She crossed her arms. "But if someone else calls me "Kiddo" I'm going to knock their head off."

Nanoha laughed nervously. "Don't get me in trouble please, Vita-chan…"

"So," Tia began, looking around. "The owner here had a mage friend who came to mid-childa and opened this bar?"

"And after a while brought the current owner here from Earth to set up an 'exotic' bar," Fate confirmed. "They mix drinks here using Earth materials, making them a lot different than what everyone here is used to. Because he has a special license to transfer items from other planets, Nanoha normally communicates with her family through the owner/Barkeep, Kuhn."

"Hmmm," Subaru hummed, examining the place they were currently in. They were currently on a second floor of the building, although it only covered half of the floor area. The other half was open, showing a dance club on the bottom floor and the bar where Nanoha and Vita were getting their drinks. Neon lights decorated the walls, as well as several plastic bead necklaces and other random things that were probably used for fashion back on Nanoha's home planet. From what she could tell, the bottom part was for partying and the top floor was more reserved for eating.

"Sorry to make you wait," Nanoha greeted, carrying a tray of drinks on her palm. Haseo followed her, looking as if he was nervous about the girl doing his job. "Here you go," She twisted the platter and sat it onto the table, handing out the drinks. "Scotch on the rocks for Fate-chan." She placed the old fashioned glass with the amber liquid in front of her friend. "My drink here," She sat the Collins glass filled with orange juice, ice, and vodka at an empty chair. "And for my Stars members," She poured them both a glass of beer. "Samual Adams, always a good decision!"

Elio blinked at the different types of drinks before he had a glass placed in front of him as well. "Eh?"

"Juice for the lightning squad." Nanoha winked. "You're a little young so this will have to do."

"Thank you," Elio accepted the glass, as did his team mate. Haseo took the now empty tray and retreated back downstairs as Vita and Vice joined the group.

"We're all here now, so…" Nanoha picked up her glass and raised it to the middle of the table. "To us, for our first successful mission in our new unit!"

"To us!" The rest chorused, each tapping glasses before drinking.

"Hey this is kind of good," Subaru mused, looking into the liquid before drinking some more.

"Drink up!" Nanoha encouraged happily. "Vice is paying for it all!"

"Hey!" he gasped. "No way, you let one through!"

"I did!?"

"Well, Fate did but it still counts!"

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha turned on her friend, who grinned over the glass in her hands while taking a very small sip.

* * *

"And, and so," Subaru giggled merrily while telling her story. "Tia-chan and I stole all the guy's underwear that were flirting with us all day…and and" She put her head down, laughing too much to go on. 

"And we soaked them in water and froze them, then ran them up the flagpole!" Tia finished, also laughing like an idiot.

Vita snorted at the story, more amused at the drunk girls than what they were saying. "Lightweights…"

"Oh shush," Nanoha nudged her, cheeks slightly red as well. "Just because you don't get- hic- drunk, doesn't mean others can't!" She smiled down at her before drinking another large gulp of her beverage. "Haseo! Heyyyyyyyy, Haseo!" She saw him look over at her so she raised her empty glass and shook it.

"Coming up, toots!" Haseo called back at her.

"You're embarrassing…" Vita complained, putting a hand to her head. "Are you sure this is okay? You go awe fully easy on these people."

"They'll be fine," She waved it off. "Tomorrow is Firesday."

"Why do you give them an entire day off?" Vita pondered, finishing her drink and motioning for another in a more sophisticated manor than her friend.

"Earth thing," Nanoha giggled. "First day of the week is a free day to rest"

"Here you are," Haseo placed another full glass of orange juice in front of Nanoha and also giving Vita a small cocktail glass filled with a cloudy liquid.

Elio and Caro sat back down at the table, having just come back from dancing downstairs at Nanoha's insistence. The two noticed the food had arrived and started getting slices of pizza and hot wings on their plate curtsy of Fate.

"Are these hot?" Caro asked, looking at a small wing. Elio licked his fingers after quickly scarfing one and shook his head. "Okay…" She bit into it and nibbled the meat off the bone and chewed a few times before her eyes went wide.

"They're not hot but they're spicy," Elio finally voiced after swallowing. "..Oh! you meant if they were 'spicy' hot!"

Caro swallowed thickly and coughed, realizing her drink was gone. "I need a drink…"

"Here's some juice," Nanoha pushed a glass just sat down over towards her.

Caro took the offered glass and drank all of it in one sitting, gasping out when it was all gone. "Those things are like _fire_!"

Fate paused a moment, looking over at the now empty glass with ice in it. "…Nanoha did you just give Caro your drink?"

"No," Nanoha picked up another glass and giggled. "I'm not that stupid." She took a long drink out of it and frowned. "Hey, Kuhn forgot to put the alcohol in this…"

Fate looked over at Caro, who was looking a little odd. She reached over and picked up the glass, allowing some of the ice in it to reach her mouth. Crunching on it, she frowned. "Nanoha-chan! You just gave Caro vodka!"

"She'll be fine," Nanoha protested, obviously having fallen past the 'tipsy' line. "She's a big girl."

"She's _ten_!"

The entire table looked over at the pink hired girl, who seemed to be fine after getting the taste out of her mouth by eating some pizza. "…What?" she asked meekly. The table got quiet a moment, each debating on if the girl would be okay or not. Seconds ticked by before Tia and Subaru lost interest and started laughing at nothing in particular again. With the silence broken, conversation picked up once more across the table, leaving no one to hear the small hiccup come from the girl.

The time went on into the night, eventually crossing midnight and breaking into the early morning hours. Caro was leaning against Elio, fast asleep after running around in a drunken state and dancing all night long. The boy had one arm around her, occasionally rubbing her shoulder when she would hiccup in her dreams. Tia and Subaru had calmed down slightly, now playing drinking games with each other. Vice was cheering them on while Vita reluctantly joined in. "So," Fate's voice caught Nanoha's attention again. "How are you?"

Nanoha looked over at her friend a moment before gazing down into her glass, which now held a dark amber liquid that matched what Fate had been drinking all night. "I'm still a little scared," she admitted, taking a sip. "I was hoping this would make me forget."

"We'll find a way to stop it." Fate held her glass by the brim, even if she had stopped drinking from it long before. "Don't worry too much about it."

"When it does happen," Nanoha whispered softly. "When I lose control and go berserk… You'll take care of me won't you, Fate?"

The red eyed girl looked down into her glass sadly. "…No."

"You have to!" She snapped at her, voice saddened. "Don't let me hurt anyone…"

"I won't hurt _you_," She whispered back, suddenly downing the rest of the drink. "It will never happen."

Nanoha looked back over her glass at the laughing people in front of her. She stayed silent a moment longer, trying to force unpleasant thoughts from her mind. "Think it's time to head back, before they get into any of the hard stuff?" She decided a change of subject would be the best idea right now.

"Sure," Fate didn't move, however. "Can you drive?"

"No way, can you?"

"I'm wasted…" The two girls looked at each other and smiled lightly.

* * *

"You owe me," Haseo informed them as the people climbed out of the car they were crammed into. The silver haired man had given them all a ride back to the entrance of the residential area of the headquarters at their request. 

"Sorry; thanks again." Nanoha stumbled out of the car, the brisk night air seeming to ease her mind a little. "Come on everyone. Out." She helped Tia and Subaru out of the car, giggling as the two instantly got onto each other again.

"You're drunk," Tia slurred to her friend when she fell onto her.

"You're sexy!" The blue haired girl replied instantly, pointing at her. "I wanna…. I wanna kiss ya," Her words mixed together, but she still received the requested kiss. "Hey, you want to…?"

"Oh yeah," Tia grinned at her a moment before both of them hurried away from the group and into the building, holding hands and stumbling over each other.

"Easy does it," Elio whispered, carrying Caro piggy back style. The girl on his back muttered something about not feeling very well, the alcohol in her stomach obviously making her woozy. "We're almost home," he soothed her as he also headed towards the building.

"G'night." Fate waved to Haseo as he drove off with an amused smile on his face. "I _really_ want to sleep," She added in. One hand went to rub the bridge of her nose while the other sought out her girlfriend's.

Nanoha gripped her hand gently and the two made their way to the elevator. The ride up was made quickly and they made their way across the hallway to their room. After getting in, the pair made a beeline to their bed, where they collapsed down with their cloths still on. "Sweet dreams," She yawned out.

"Sweet dreams," Fate replied in kind before putting her face in a pillow and passing out.

* * *

Notes: This will be updated alongside StrikerS series as it airs. The main goal of this is to not follow the storyline exactly but offer a type of alternate univers. I have chosen what I want to write already and will continue to go with it, even when the real series reveals what it really is. So please just enjoy this for what it is, an AU. 

Fun facts:

- The days of the week on Midchilda (at least in this story) go like this: Firesday - Earthsday - Watersday - Windsday - Iceday - Lightningsday - Lightsday - Darksday


	3. Chapter 3

Waking up was painful to say the least. My head felt like something on the inside was hitting it with a hammer each time my heart beat. I groaned softly, feeling a horrible taste in my mouth. The light almost blinded me when I opened my eyes and forced me to bring a hand up to cover them. '_I'm never drinking again,_' my mind thought groggily as I sat up and scratched the back of my head, realizing I only had one pigtail left in my hair. '_Why are my legs so sore?... And why is it so cold?_' I finally managed to open my eyes and squint through the headache inducing light. '_Why am I naked…?_' Looking to the side I noticed that I wasn't even in my own bed. A sudden feeling of dread washed over me as I shakily moved my hand over to the lump of covers next to me. Swallowing, I braced myself for what was about to come. Slowly the covers were pulled back, revealing the blue hair of an equally naked Subaru. "Oh god…" My hand instantly went to my mouth in shock. I had slept with my best friend…

**TSAB 6****th**** mobile division III**

**By: Satashi **

Subaru moaned lightly, pushing herself up from the pillow and sitting upright. The girl let out a large yawn, broken half way by suddenly grabbing her head. "Oh wow, my first hang over…" She coughed slightly, looking over towards the terrified Tia. "…G'morning," She greeted shyly. "Last night was amazing," Her cheeks colored more, as if she couldn't believe she actually said that.

Tia's eyes widened slightly when she saw the hickies on her friend's body. Everything that happened last night crashed on her all at once: Making out on the elevator, scrambling to get to the door, the slow removal of clothing, and the small gasp of her name. "I… I mean we…"

"Yes?" Subaru sat Indian style, pulling the covers up to cover her body with one hand and using the other to try and block out some of the light.

The red head swallowed again, mind flashing back to Subaru's nervous request that they should probably stop and her constant insistence that she wanted to continue. '_We had sex…we had sex…we had SEX!_'

"Tia, what's wrong?" Subaru scooted over towards her, embracing the girl. "Does you head hurt too? Want me to get you some medicine?"

"N-no!" She quickly pushed the girl away, making her fall over onto the bed. "I…I…"

"Tia…?" Subaru looked hurt at the motion.

"I…I have to go," she quickly got out of bed and stumbled over to her closet to find some clothes. When that didn't go as fast as she wanted, the girl grabbed her device card and called forth her battle uniform to cover herself.

"Wha…wait! Don't leave me alone!" Subaru gasped out, reaching for her from the bed. "T-Tia!?"

Tia looked over her shoulder at the scared girl calling for her. A quick memory of Subaru laying naked underneath her came to her mind. She had just asked if they should stop, voiced that she was nervous since it was her first time. Tia had denied her, kissing the girl softly and whispering words of love into her ear. Now with Subaru's frightened eyes looking at her Tia felt fear in her own heart. Instead of answering her, the redhead quickly opened the door to their room and ran out.

"Tia…" Subaru blinked quickly, trying to hold back her tears. After the first one escaped her, she felt her defenses break and fell onto her bed, sobbing into a pillow.

Tia ran down the hallway and to the elevator, pleased to find it open almost instantly to her beckoning. The doors opened and revealed a fully dressed Nanoha, who almost bumped into her. "Ah, good morning Tia-san." She noticed that she was in battle gear. "Going to train already? I thought you would have a killer hang over from all that you drank last night?"

"No, um, I mean I do but…" She looked over at her dorm room door and quickly hopped into the elevator when Nanoha stepped out. "I'm going to train!"

"Want to have breakfast first?" The girl offered happily. "I'm getting the Lightning members and Subaru-san as well?"

"S-sorry, no." Tia reached out and pressed a button on the elevator. The 'ding' sound made her bring a hand back to her head in pain as she gave Nanoha an apologetic look.

"That was weird…" Nanoha shrugged and merrily walked over to Caro's room since it was the first along the way and knocked on it lightly. "Caro-saaaan? You awake yet?" No answer greeted her in return so she tried again. "Caro-san? It's already eight, you need to get up silly girl." Again nothing answered her, making her frown. "You okay in there?" She waved her hand across the lock, using her rank to make the door open. The lights were off but the sunlight streaming through the closed blinds gave her enough light to see the girl curled up in bed. She took a moment to look around as she walked over to her, pleased that the small girl had decorated her room. Stuffed animals were everywhere, as well as posters of random things. To her amusement she found picture frames along the walls and desk, most of which showed Fate and Caro together. "Hey there," she greeted the girl softly, kneeling beside the bed.

Caro opened her eyes slowly, giving Nanoha a sad look. "…Hey…" She whispered back, pulling the covers up to her nose. "My tummy hurts…"

"I'm sorry," Nanoha pet her lightly. "I gave you my drink by accident, please forgive me?" She got a small nod. "I know you don't want to, but you need to get up and eat something. You'll feel amazingly better in just a little bit, I promise."

"I can't stay in bed?"

"You can, but you'll feel bad almost all day long," She helped move the covers back and lifted the girl up into her arms. "If you eat something it'll settle your stomach. Come on, I made muffins this morning."

"Okay." Caro nodded sleepily and held onto her. "The lights are bright…"

Nanoha laughed nervously. "Ten years old and having her first hangover… Man am I the teacher of the year or what?" She carried the girl outside into the hallway, nearly running into Elio in the process. "Hey there," She greeted, dancing around him expertly so they wouldn't collide. "Almost ran over two people in under five minutes, I'm on a roll."

"Hey Aunt Nanoha," He saluted her. "Er, Nanoha-san."

"Want to come to breakfast?" She smiled when he nodded. "Could you ask Subaru-san as well for me?

* * *

"Fate-chan, get _up_." Nanoha sighed, pulling the covers back on the still-clothed-from-last-night girl. "They're already downstairs and the muffins are done so come eat."

"Ngghhh…" Fate pushed her head into a pillow and groaned. "Shut up, I'm not getting out of bed."

"Come _on_." Nanoha slid her hands under the girl and hefted her into the air.

"Nanoha!"

"That's better," She sat the blond down on her feet and held her when she looked like she was about to fall over. "Change clothes and come downstairs, I have breakfast and medicine for you already okay sweetheart?"

"Ngh," Fate nodded, walking over to her dresser with one hand nursing her head. "How is it you never get hung over?"

"Skill," Nanoha giggled before going back downstairs to her company. "Fate-chan'll be down in a moment, go ahead and eat your hearts out." Her friends nodded and began to eat slowly at first, then picking up their pace once they realized how hungry they were. A knock at the door revealed Subaru, who was still finger combing her hair to try and get it half way presentable. "Hey Subaru-san," Nanoha motioned for her to join the rest of them. "Hungry?"

"Starved," The blue haired girl leaned against the counter since the two little ones were sitting on the only barstools across from her. "What kind?"

"Blueberry today." Nanoha handed her a few pills and a glass of orange juice. "Here, this'll knock out your hangover really fast."

"How did you know I was hung over?" Subaru accepted the pills and took them quickly.

"Your eyes are puffy and your cheeks are red." Nanoha looked a little closer. "Looks like you've been crying?"

"No," Subaru took a bite of the offered treats and changed the subject. "How are you this morning Caro?"

"I feel funny," She nibbled on her muffin slowly. "But it's going away."

"I see," Subaru ate in bigger bites, chugging her juice. '_I always seem to eat when I'm stressed out…_'

* * *

Tia frowned as the targets shook one by one as they were hit by her bullets. She was in the illusionary training ground set on forest mode, shooting red and white bully's eye targets as they appeared randomly around her. Shells littered her feet, hands burning from the heat put off from firing the rounds. '_This isn't happening,_' Her mind wondered as her hands went on reflex alone. '_This –can't- be happening. I'm not gay, I don't like girls!_' Her body turned, shooting several more targets as they dropped down from the trees. '_I don't like Subaru like that, I don't!_' Spinning once more, she shot several times, making one target blow up instead of just shaking. '_Those eyes…_' Her mouth frowned more, reflecting back on the large orbs that clearly had admiration and love in them. '_I don't want to see those eyes!_'

Tia felt her skin itch, a signal that something was wrong around her. Sure enough a pink blast of energy landed right where she had just been standing. The girl rolled across the ground, avoiding more blast as they collided with the dirt. As she reclaimed her footing several different color blast came at her from different directions. '_Okay then,_' She though bitterly. '_A surprise training session, huh? Fine! I need to work out some frustration anyway!_' The practice clips disengaged from her gun and she instantly reloaded with her real cartridges. "Cross mirage, Let's go all out!"

"All right! Reload complete!"

Her feet spread along the ground, gripping into the dirt. Eyes scanned the area and hands blurred as bullets flew thickly around her. The girl spun around quickly, blasting several shots that were sneaking up on her. The attacks doubled in number, forcing her to quickly adapt and speed up as well. Soon different color bullets were leaving her guns as well, each tracking down their intended targets. '_I'll get hit like this,_' she realized as she was forced to slide to the side to avoid that scenario. '_… I wonder…_'

Quickly Tia loaded another clip into her gun and fended off the attacks with one hand, using the new one to shoot into the air several times. The orange bullets came back down and circled her body. Now with bullets flying around her she went back to shooting down what was being aimed at her again, relief washing over her as her bullet shield took out any shots that would normally make her have to move. "You have to do better than that, Nanoha-san!" She cried out, frantically moving faster to blast the remaining shots out of the air. "Ha!"

Tia heard the high pitched sound of a charge up attack, making her freeze in her tracks. "Divine…!" The words reached her ear but she didn't move. Instead she put both barrels in front of her and charged up her own attack. "…Buster!"

"Scatter shot!" Tia let loose her own fire, shooting the large pink mass of energy flying at her. Just as she had hoped, the blast was destroyed. A smile came across her face for a full two seconds before she realized that the dissipated energy formed into balls, each zipping towards her. The red head brought her guns up to counter but each clicked, signaling that they were out of energy. "Oh no…"

"You're wound up," Nanoha finally revealed herself, flying down to the girl who was still braced for impact. Tia slowly opened her eyes and saw that the balls of energy were hovering in front of her, only attacking enough to destroy her barrier. "If your mind is clouded you will make bad mistakes on the battle field."

Tia panted, wiping her mouth. "I'm just a little out of it, that's all."

"Anything you want to talk about?" Nanoha stood in front of her, allowing her magic to dissipate around them. "I'm a good listener."

"…Sorry, it's personal." The shorter girl closed her eyes sadly. "I just need a while to clear my head."

Nanoha observed her for a moment, debating if the younger one was having battlefield regrets. "All right then," She put a hand on her head, making Tia look up at her. "If you ever need me, I'm here for you. Personal or Military."

"Thank you," The girls both looked to the side as someone approached them. The figure came into view quickly, gliding along skates. "Subaru…"

"Tia!" The girl stopped in her tracks instantly, looking over at her. "…Tia, about last night…"

"Nothing to talk about," The redhead turned around and allowed her guns to reform back into a card. "Thanks for the training, Nanoha-san. I have to be going now." With those words, the girl ran away, not looking back.

"…Did something happen…?"

Subaru looked down. "…No, nothing happened…"

* * *

"I'm home," Nanoha called out while trying to get the door closed and not drop any of the groceries she had piled in her arms. "…Do I smell cookies?"

"Welcome home, and yes." Fate called from the kitchen. "Care-san made them!"

"Oh?" The brown haired girl looked amused for a moment. The young female had flour on her face and hair, as well as cookie dough stuck to her hands. "What's the occasion?"

"Fate-san told me that Elio-kun carried me all last night, so I'm making him cookies as a thank you," Caro told her happily. "I asked Fate-san if I could use the mess hall kitchen but she said that she would help me in here…sorry if it's an inconvenience?"

"Not at all," Nanoha pet the girl on the head before starting to put things away. "Do you not remember much of last night?"

"It's kind of fuzzy," She admitted, arranging cookie dough on a baking sheet.

Nanoha laughed nervously when Fate gave her a nasty look. "Nya haha…sorry again…"

"It's okay, I feel fine now," Caro picked up the sheet and went to the oven, smiling when Nanoha pulled the door down for her. "Now to just let them bake."

"I'll watch over them for you," Fate told her, bending over to be more eye level with the girl. "Why don't you go watch some TV for a little while?" She cleaned her up as best she could with a tea towel.

"Okay, thank you." Caro bowed lightly before leaving the kitchen.

"You're so kind," Nanoha spoke softly so the little one wouldn't overhear. "Always going out of your way to make sure they have a childhood."

Fate blushed lightly, looking around the corner at the pink haired girl who was happily watching the screen. "They're so young. I know each one has their own reason for being here but I still want them to have fun whenever they can… Like you allowed for me."

"Don't worry," Nanoha hugged her from behind and whispered in her ear. "They'll grow up happy and strong, we'll see to that."

"Nanoha…" Fate embraced the hands around her stomach a moment before turning around in the embrace and hugging her back. "You've always helped me take care of Elio, and now Caro as well…Thank you."

"They're my kids too," She winked. "Elio has called me 'aunt' since the first time I've met him after all."

"Just because he thought you were my sister," She teased happily at the memory.

"Would you rather him call us both 'mommy'?" Nanoha smiled brightly at her, leaning up to kiss her girlfriend.

"But that would make you my…"

"Yeah, it would." The two kissed soundly, holding back their gasp for air so Caro wouldn't come to check up on them. Moments passed by quickly, the kiss getting deeper until finally the buzzer on the oven went off right behind them. Frightened by the sudden loud noise the girls pulled away quickly, Nanoha bringing a hand to her mouth. "You bit my tongue!" She accused.

"S-sorry!" Fate quickly turned off the buzzer and got some distance between her girlfriend just in time for Caro to come back in.

"Are they cookies yet?" She looked over at the girls and blinked. "Um, did I forget to do something?"

"No, no!" Fate opened the oven and took out the sheet. "They're perfect, hehehe… yeah, perfect!" She gave Nanoha an apologetic look; sure she wouldn't live that one down for years to come.

* * *

"Alarm set, 5:30, please wake up, my master."

Nanoha lazily sat up in the bed, covering a yawn. "Thank you, Raising Heart…" After rubbing her eyes she looked over to the side to see Fate pressed against the wall hugging a pillow. "Wake up, Fate-chan." She crawled over the large bed to her friend and shook her lightly. "What time did you go to sleep?"

"Too late," The blond groaned. "I went through that entire folder yesterday… Let me sleep."

"Can't; today's Earthsday. You have to run with the forwards while I'm at my kickboxing class. Come on, you promised."

"Ugggh… Have I ever mentioned I hate you?"

"Once or twice," Nanoha kissed her girlfriend's forehead. "Now get up." She gave her a quick pat to the stomach and rolled out of bed. "You'll get out of shape if you don't run everyday."

"I don't want to hear that from the girl who flies everywhere she can, despite constantly getting scolded about it."

"Cranky this morning are we?" Nanoha giggled to herself. Fate had _never_ been a morning person. "I'll make you some coffee."

"Thank you," Fate waited until Nanoha was out of sight and curled back under the covers, closing her eyes.

"Get out of bed, Fate-chan!"

"You can't even see me!"

* * *

"Subaru?" Nanoha blinked at seeing her student in the gym. "Not going to run with everyone else today?"

The blue haired girl blushed lightly. "Well, um, I kind of…" She looked down to the floor while trying to remember the excuse she had come up with. "I heard you have a personal trainer?" Changing the subject was always a nice way to get the focus off oneself.

Nanoha nodded. "Yeah, because I was never any good at physical things. I almost failed my gym classes in school and when I joined the military I was so out of shape for this kind of thing they had to get me a PT." She smiled lightly, embarrassed. "I couldn't fight hand to hand at _all_ so they got someone special for me."

"I see…" Subaru bit her bottom lip, debating. "Say?"

"Yes?"

"Can I… I mean, would you mind if…?"

"You want to try it out as well?"

"Yes."

"Sure, I don't mind." Nanoha looked around the gym a moment before spotting her instructor. "Arnold-san!" The name was combined with a wave, catching the man's attention. "This is Subaru-san," Nanoha introduced, pointing to her student. "She wants to train too, is that okay?"

The man known as Arnold looked at the petite blue haired girl and rubbed his chin with one hand. He was rather large in size, towering both of the girls by an easy two feet. His body was tone and muscular, not to mention very tan. "All right," He agreed after a moment. "Get ready," he continued, voice heavy with an accent. "Because I am gonna pump!" He clapped his hands once and pointed at her. "You up!"

Subaru was seriously having second thoughts.

* * *

Fate looked over to the side when Nanoha and Subaru came running up to the platform in front of the training ground, currently set on forest mode. "Nanoha," She greeted them. "And Subaru-san."

"Hello," Nanoha smiled at her while Subaru bent over and panted for air. "Will you be able to join us today?"

"Yes, Vita is already inside getting to know everyone."

"Go ahead and join them, Subaru-san," Nanoha nodded at her. "Fate-chan, do you want to teach the lightning members?"

"Sure," Fate nodded as Subaru sped away on her roller blades. "I was a little worried about them being in different 'teams' but it turns out that Tia-san stayed with Caro-san last night. I guess they're getting to be good friends."

"She did?" Nanoha looked over at the field. "…Say, Fate-chan? Have… Subaru-san and Tia-san been acting a little strange lately?"

"…I haven't noticed anything, why?"

"No reason," She shook her head. "I'm just imagining things. Come one, let's get this day started!"

* * *

"Hayate-san!" Griffith's voice came up on the intercom in the girl's office. "Chief Librarian Yuuno Scrya has requested a telecom meeting with you."

"Oh?" Hayate blinked, letting Rein fly up and over to her desk so she could see as well. "Patch him through please."

"Yes ma'am!" The voice clicked off and after a few moments a small three dimensional image of Yuuno appeared on the desk.

"Good afternoon, Yuuno-kun," Hayate greeted.

"Hi, Yuuno!" Rein added in, landing on the desk and standing in front of the man.

"Good afternoon," Yuuno replied in kind. "I'd like to make small talk but I have some big news."

"What is it?" The leader of the sixth division leaned forward, putting her chin on her hands.

"Well, as you know, I've been using some of my time to try and find smugglers of Relics to aid in your Division." He got an encouraging nod to continue. "I hacked some information from an underground source: turns out there is supposedly going to be some sort of black market auction for a Relic on Midchilda."

"You're kidding!?"

"I can't say for certain as of right now, but we should probably look into it. If we can find out exactly what, when, and where we could intercept it and possibly bring down one smuggler route."

"True…But where should we start looking? There are countless auctions going on around Midchilda, and if there really was a black market influence, it would probably be high class to cover any suspicion of top dollar items…"

The three crossed their arms and thought silently for a moment. "Why don't we get some information from crooks themselves?" Rein finally suggested. "A little undercover work to back-up Yuuno's research?"

"Direct from the source would be best…"Yuuno mused out as he thought. "I know! Every big city has a street racing organization!"

"Yes, they give us a lot of problems." Hayate sighed out. "I'm going to have to send my unit to shut them down one day since we're also public safety."

Yuuno grinned. "How about we join them instead?"

"Eh?"

* * *

"Well, it's not your movements that are slow," Vita mused to herself after sending Subaru grinding in the dirt. "You have a good reaction time, and your rollerblades don't hinder you like I thought they would."

"Th-thank you…."Subaru pushed herself up shakily. Her body was bruised in several places, matching the multiple small cuts that littered her flesh. '_And I though Nanoha was strict…she's brutal!_'

"Can you not stand?" Vita leaned against her hammer. "You won't improve any lying down."

"I'm fine!" Subaru grunted deep in her throat, forcing herself up completely. "Something like that won't keep me down!" Her words made Vita smirk. "Come on, I'm ready!"

"Nanoha treats you all too nicely," Vita voiced her thoughts aloud as she plucked her weapon from the soil. "But I won't be so kind. If you don't have experience to back up your power then you will lose against people who are a lot weaker than yourself. Your goal right now is to continue fighting me as long as you can. The more you can do by yourself the less others will have to support you. That's the goal of our positions; we rip through anything and everything so the others won't be in that much danger."

"Ma'am!"

"Then," Vita held up Graf Eisen. "Graf, set personal limiters –both physically and magically- to B-rank." Her weapon replied in an affirmative manor, washing over the short female with a sluggish green haze. "Tell me, Subaru," She started to walk forward slowly. "We are now the same rank. I can not use any abilities that are above me, and if I did they wouldn't be nearly effective. I cannot speed faster than the average B-rank mage, nor can I fly. With this, what are your chances of besting me in battle?"

'_I'm a little weak but after everything I've been through I think I could be classified as a B+ mage… Vita isn't used to being so weak so she may allow things to break through that she normally wouldn't flinch at…' _ With a grin Subaru ran her thumb across her nose. "Sixty percent!"

Vita laughed openly. "Cocky, aren't you?" Instantly her eyes narrowed and she pointed her battle hammer at her with one hand. "Your chances are zero." The words made Subaru flinch. "Come at me!"

"Hiyaa!" The girl blurred forward, rearing back a punch and shooting out two cartridges.

"Too slow!" Vita was already ducking down, allowing the punch to fly over her head. The arm was grabbed and Vita shifted her stance, slinging Subaru over her shoulder and slamming her into the ground. '_Nanoha would stop here, but…_' Continuing, the red headed girl gripped the wrist she was holding and jerked it to the side, slinging her into a tree. Subaru's eyes went wide as the breath was robbed from her with the impact. Her lungs tried to reclaim the lost air but found it gone once again when Vita's hammer slammed into her side, saved only by Mach Caliber's auto shield.

The blue haired girl coughed violently, pushing herself up onto her hands and knees. She allowed herself three seconds to recover before putting one hand onto the ground and flailing out her foot in a sweep kick. Her opponent jumped over it and cut a few back hand springs to reclaim her distance. "Accelerate!" Subaru screamed, flaring forward on her wheels. Once again she reared back her hand. The attack missed once more, this time being sidestepped. All of her momentum stopped at once when she felt the tiny girl's elbow on her chest.

"Not done yet!" Vita told her, gripping her shoulder and hoisting herself up into the air before spin kicking her and robbing the trainee of her consciousness.

Subaru awoke slowly, vision swimming momentarily as she tried to regain her bearings. For some reason she felt cool and comfortable, a drastic change from the heat of being outside. With a grunt she forced herself to sit up and realized that she was in a hospital bed. "Ow… What hit me?"

"Vita-chan," Shamal answered her, leaning over to inspect the now awake girl. "You were out for almost three hours."

"My head is killing me…" Subaru groaned, allowing the doctor to inspect her and answered the standard questions before being allowed to get out of the bed. "How did I even get here?" She wondered briefly, accepting the pain killers the doctor handed her.

"Tiana carried you," Shamal replied happily. "She asked me to take care of you but she left when I was debating using smelling salts."

"Tia…"

* * *

"Understand the mission objective?" Yuuno asked Fate as she drove her car through the night streets.

"Understood," Fate told the screen as she continued to follow the bright green car with the racing spoiler. The lights reflected off of it as if it had just been waxed and washed several times over. Light flames came from the exhaust and the engine could be heard even through the soundproofing of the enforcer's car. "I'm going to disable all law enforcements now so I won't stand out. I'll be back late tonight or early tomorrow morning."

"Be safe out there, contact me via cell phone every chance you get all right?"

"I'm a big girl, Yuuno-kun."

"Tell that to Nanoha, I have to report to her after you report to me…"

The blond giggled to herself. "Okay. Going undercover now." She got a nod in reply so she reached under her steering wheel and pulled up a cover hiding a button, which she pressed. "Okay then…Everything relating to law enforcement is disabled and hidden…" She took a breath and revved her engine at the stoplight next to the green car and a sharp looking dark blue one. The light turned green and the two shot forward instantly. Fate slammed her gas and followed them, ignoring traffic regulations as she power slid around a turn and drifted through the traffic to keep up with them. The two cars weaved through the traffic hazzardly, followed closely by Fate's pitch black machine. The routine was carried on for almost five minutes before they finally pulled into a parking garage and sped downwards to the bottom floor.

Fate looked around, keeping a steady expression on her face. Several cars were lined up with their hoods open to show off their engines. Music blared around them as she drove slowly through the mass of people in search of a spot. Seeing one, she pulled into it and got out of her car. Two people approached her quickly while she popped the hood and walked around to the front of her car and opened it.

"What's a girl like you doing with daddy's car?" The first asked, eying her up and down.

"My car," Fate corrected, crossing her arms and leaning a little to the side. She wore a black miniskirt with matching black stockings and high heeled platform shoes. Her shirt was a tight fitting tube top and her makeup was overly done, especially the eye shadow. Fate's fingernails were done with a pitch black polish, complete with white specks on them to match the dog-type collar she wore. "Won it after I smoked some jerk-off who underestimated me. A little work and here she is," Fate nodded to the car, pleased to find more people coming over to inspect it.

"And on the inside?"

"That'll cost you." She held up her hand and rubbed her index finger and her thumb together in the classic 'money' hand motion.

"She's got spunk!" One man declared, reaching into his pocket and shoving bills into her hand. After receiving a nod he opened her driver side door and got in. "Whoa man, this stuff is _tight_, yo!" His hands reached around, inspecting. "Dual nos and…" He gripped her hand brake and pulled it. "Ohhhh-ho-ho man! This thing has seen a lot of use!"

"So what you want here?" A new voice came up, making Fate turn.

"I want to race," She declared, holding her ground when the man got in her face.

"We don't race for kicks around here, princess."

"I only race for pinks." She held up a slip, making several people whistle. "You got the balls to accept?"

The man looked at her a moment longer before smirking. "All right. You're in." He turned and called out above the music. "Clear the track, we're going!"

"You got some guts challenging the King like that, miss-priss." One of the first men told her as she swapped places with the man inside her car. "Kiss your ride goodbye."

Fate chose to ignore him, closing her door and following the man who had paid her to inspect. He led her to a line drawn in spray paint and stopped her car there. Shortly after the man she challenged pulled up next to her, glaring. Their eye contact was broken when someone walked between their cars and stood in between them. He pointed to the man's side and got a confirmation before pointing over to Fate's side as well. The girl nodded at the person beside her car and they relayed the message as well. "Set!" The man held out both hands. "Go!" The hands dropped and Fate instantly hit the gas.

The female shifted quickly, eyes glaring in front of her as she sped through the parking garage. She felt her hands start to sweat heavily as she maneuvered around cars and people alike, speeding around concrete pillars on her way around the loop. Her opponent sped by her quickly, turning his car and sliding around to easily take the almost ninety degree turn to go up the ramp to the second floor. Following suit, Fate downshifted and pulled her E-brake, also sliding around to ascend as well. She felt her back end glance against the stone wall and grind as she went up. The sparks in her rearview mirror confirmed that she had, indeed, failed at the drift.

With a frown the girl shifted again, speeding up and using a straight away to her advantage by injecting nos into her system and instantly shooting ahead once again. The parking lot section turned to loop around, making Fate's eyes go wide. She downshifted and over steered once again, pulling her brake. Her car slid sideways as she turned, back end slamming into the wall. Her opponent skidded along in front of her, almost as if it was nothing to turn a complete one-eighty at their speeds. Slamming her hand onto the wheel, Fate shifted down into first and floored her gas.

The way up onto the third floor was made easily, this time correctly sliding her car around to speed up the ramp. Ahead of her, the so called 'king' was cutting another turn, easily leaving black marks in a perfect half circle. Fate glared at the turn, over steering one way before cutting hard and pulling her brake again, successfully looping around one of the concrete pillars of the parking garage. The fourth floor was a repeat and the fifth floor led them neck and neck again. '_I'm going to hit the wall again when we cut,_' she realized quickly why the man seemed to be so confident. '_I have to get ahead but how!?_' The path came on her quickly, forcing the girl to swerve hard. The front side of her car collided with a pillar, making her spin around backwards. Not stopping, the girl threw her car into reverse and floored it, using the momentum to slip around behind the man as he turned and go up the final ramp backwards. Cutting hard, she smiled at the shocked face of the man in front of her as she steered her car in reverse up the ramp

"What the _hell_!?" One of the men came up to Fate's smoking car and looked over it. When the two stopped on the roof. "You can't even drift and you challenge the best? You have some nerve lady!"

"A win's a win." Fate declared, getting out of her car after pushing the send button to message Yuuno to proceed with the next step on her cell phone. "Your car is mine." She held out her hand. "Keys and slip."

A cell phone rang amidst the cheering and yelling, answered by one of the random people in the crowd. "Oh man," he gasped out. "Oh man! Yo, we got cops! COPS!" The scream of sirens emphasized his point, making the people on the rooftop instantly scramble. Fate jumped into her car and started it, allowing the small screen to appear on her steering wheel after her door closed.

"Hey Yuuno-kun," She greeted him happily, screaming her car down the off ramp along with the others. "The one we want has a white car with black and red flames on the side."

"Rodger that." He typed on a keyboard in front of him as Fate ripped onto the streets, laughing at the blue and red lights flashing all around her.

"This is so much fun!"

Yuuno sweated lightly. "Do I need to remind you that you're an officer, Fate-san?"

"Sure, sure," Fate grinned, following the white car. Several police vehicles shot by them, forcing the two away from the rest of the crowd of scrambling street racers. Pressed on, the two zipped through the streets, running red lights and turning around back allies. "Okay I think that's enough," Fate told her partner as she shifted and sped past the white car. She made a motion at him and got a nod before cutting around and speeding out ahead. "Call off the chase on us."

"Done and done," Yuuno confirmed. "Good luck, Fate-san!"

"Thanks," She skidded her car around a turn and cut it off, soon joined by the man behind her. She held her breath unconsciously, even if she knew that the police wouldn't follow her. Seconds passed by slowly before she opened her door and got out.

"Not bad, for a woman." The man called as he got out of his ride as well. "Seems you know how to run from the police."

"You could say that." Fate strutted over to him and sat on the hood of her car.

"Here," He held out his keys. "It's yours. I have several more anyway."

"Keep you car, I want something else."

"Oh?" He crossed his arms. "What's that?"

"Money," she replied easily. "More than just a car can bring in, I need a job."

"What kind?"

"Transporter." Fate crossed her legs and looked over at him. "I was sent from another country over here after I was set up on a delivery. I need to get in with the big dogs around here and start my runs again."

"Transporter huh? Well you certainly drive like one." He eyed her car. "It shows the way you drift, you're used to fast races where you have plenty of room… All right then, what's the first rule of a transporter?"

"Never open the package."

"Good, and the second?"

"Get it there on time."

"And the third?"

Fate smirked. "There is no third rule."

"…All right, since you bailed me and are letting me keep my car I'll hook you up. There's a cruise ship coming by the harbor in six days. Onboard will be several of the richest people on Midchildra. One of the items being sold is a crystalline energy source, a type of battery that holds unspeakable power."

"I see," She cut to the point.

"It will go on auction, and Onisuka-san will place top bid on it. The ship will be circling out in the ocean and once the auction is over and we get back to harbor he'll need a driver incase anyone decides to 'reconsider the sale' if you know what I mean."

"Exactly." Fate smirked. "What ship?"

"The mayflower. Six days from now, it leaves at one in the afternoon."

"Thank you." Fate nodded at him and slid off the car. "I'll be there." Sliding in, she cranked her car and backed out, cutting on her headlights and driving off. "Yuuno-kun," her cell phone displayed the screen once again. "I got the information, take him down."

"Rodger."

* * *

Fate opened the door to her loft slowly, creeping in silently and gently closing the door back behind herself. Her shoes were removed and she made her way to the stairway, glancing over at the clock on the wall that read three twenty-two in the morning. Carefully she crept up the stairs and made her way over to her dresser to pick out something to change into. No sooner than she opened the drawer than did the lights cut on. Turning, she looked over at Nanoha who was rubbing her eyes. "Sorry, I tried not to wake you."

"You would have woken me when you got in bed," She replied easily as Fate walked over to her. "Besides, I _told_ you to wake me up when you got home. I worry, you know."

"Everything went according to plan." She soothed, leaning over to kiss the girl's forehead. "I'll tell you all about it tomorrow morning…what?" She blushed lightly when Nanoha's gaze went lower.

"What are you _wearing_!?"

"Um," Fate scratched her cheek. "You have to look the part when you're undercover…"

"You look like a five dollar hooker." Nanoha teased her happily.

"Oh gee, thanks, that's _just_ what I want to hear."

"It's okay," Nanoha pulled her down onto the bed, obviously more awake now. "Because," She whispered up into her ear. "I have five dollars."

Fate blushed darkly when her girlfriend started rubbing her back and stomach. "Mou, you really _are_ like a rabbit…It's three in the morning!"

"Nya haha! C'mere!" She playfully growled at her lover and rolled her on the bed so she was on top. "I always wanted to play dress up!"

* * *

"So that's the story," Fate finished up her report to Hayate and Rein. "We have five days from today to prepare." She heard the girl sigh in front of her. "Will it be that hard to set up troops?"

"Impossible." Rein informed her. "That ship is one of the classiest reserve-only type ships that has to be booked months in advance. The thought of putting military on board is laughable. Their personal security is top notch so they'll turn down any help we offer."

"I see…" Fate put a hand to her chin.

"We could stay undercover," Hayate mused. "With the connections I have, I'm sure we could talk the people into letting a few of us on board to observe. We would have to blend in perfectly, though."

"I see…"

* * *

"The first thing about being undercover," Nanoha stated as she walked in front of her students. "Is to know enough about what's going on to hold a five minute conversation with anyone who you come in contact with. This, of course, means research. You will all be required to do research on several things, more on that later." She stopped walking and looked at them directly. "For this mission you will each have central roles that you will need to master. Hayate-chan and Fate-chan will be with us as well but the more people we have to cover ground the better. First up, this is an auction but also a formal party for the rich; a ball if you will." Nanoha looked down to her necklace. "Raising Heart, if you will?"

"All right, my master." The empty training ground around them changed quickly to a type of large elegant room with tile flooring and chandeliers hanging from the high ceilings.

"I doubt any of you can waltz so the first step is to learn." Nanoha looked to the side. "My friend Yuuno-kun has agreed to help out on this mission and has already secured himself a place as the auctioneer thanks to his extensive knowledge on items and antiques."

"Hi there," He nodded that the group of people in front of them.

"Music please?" Nanoha watched Yuuno type a few things on a floating keyboard display, getting a soft steady song going. "Shall we?"

"With pleasure, my lady." Yuuno bowed to Nanoha and took her hand. His free arm went to her waist and felt Nanoha's rest on his shoulder.

"And, one, two, three, four," Nanoha stepped to the beat along with the male dancing with her. "Once you get these basic steps down you can simply repeat them." She had to pause as she was twirled. "You want to blend in as much as possible so if anyone ask you to dance, accept."

"We really have to do that?" Subaru asked nervously, watching the couple dance.

"It's easy," Rein encouraged her, sitting on her shoulder. "A little practice and you'll be fine.

"Now you try," Nanoha let go of Yuuno and looked at them. "Pair up and lets see what you have." She saw Elio look over at Caro and shyly reach out his hand, even giving a little bow. The pink haired girl smiled to herself and accepted, placing her palm on top of his.

"Tia…?" Subaru looked over at her friend nervously.

"Idiot," Tia looked away. "What's the point of one of us learning to lead when we'll both be following at the mission?"

"Oh… I see…"

"Here," Fate stepped forward and offered her hand to Tia. "I know how to lead."

"You do?" Tia accepted the hand and got into position.

"Someone has to be the lead when two girls dance," She replied easily, making Tia blush a little when she realized that the blond had learned for Nanoha.

"I guess that puts you with me," Yuuno spoke to Subaru, making her jump lightly. "Easy, I don't bite."

"He does so!" Nanoha accused playfully.

"Oi!" Yuuno glared at her, only getting a smile back.

"I guess someone like me would only cause trouble here." Vita voiced up to Hayate as the couples tried to dance, failing miserably.

"Don't say that," Hayate knelt down next to Vita and ruffled her hair. "You have a role too."

"What part am I going to play?" The pigtailed girl looked up at Hayate, pleased at being rubbed.

"I'm going to be using illusion magic to make myself look a little older. You will be my daughter."

"I see…"

* * *

"Tia stop running from me!" Subaru called out to her room mate as the lesson of that day ended. "You've been avoiding me for days now; we need to talk about this!"

"There's nothing to talk about," Tia replied softly, turning to walk again. She made it three steps before her hand was caught. "Subaru, let go!"

"No!" She spun her friend around and grabbed her shoulders. "Tia! It hurts! Stop ignoring me! Please!"

"Just let it go," Tia looked away and spoke softly, avoiding her eyes. "We were drunk."

"I don't care," Subaru's eyes started to water. "Tia…"

"Subaru, stop it." She looked at her friend's face, accidentally meeting her eyes. '_I don't want to see you like this… I don't want to feel like this!_' She tried to pull away but found herself being held still. "Let me go, Subaru."

"No…I don't want to." She forced her friend into a hug. "Tia, we made love together!"

"We were _drunk_ Subaru!" Tia countered, trying to will herself to force the girl away. "Stop it, please let me go."

"I don't want to," The girl gripped her tighter. "We hugged…"

"I didn't know what I was doing." Tia felt her eyes moisten lightly. "Please let me go."

"We kissed…"

"I'm not gay. Please let me go."

"We touched…"

"I don't like girls. Please let me go.

"I like _you_." Subaru's voice started to shake.

"I don't like you like that. Let me go. Now." Tia closed her eyes tightly. '_I'm not gay, I'm not gay, I'm not gay, I'm not!_'

"You said you loved me!" Subaru screamed out, gripping her harder.

"I lied!" Tia finally shoved her away, turning around quickly and running. "I don't love you!" Tears ran down her cheeks when the sudden cry of her name left Subaru's lips. '_Stop it Subaru!_' she sobbed mentally as she ran. '_Why are you making me feel like this!? I'm not ready for this! I can't deal with these feelings!_'

"Tiaaa…" The single word broke softly as the girl sank to her knees sadly.

* * *

"Everyone clear on what they are going to do?" Hayate asked as the limousine drove down the pavement towards the boat harbor. She looked over at Elio first.

The redhead saluted her instantly. "Yes ma'am. I am to pose as a waiter and try to find out any information I can while serving refreshments during lunch and eavesdrop on the floor before the auction starts while offering drinks."

Caro nodded to herself when she was looked at. "I am going to help Elio-kun during the luncheon and if need calls for it, be a distraction. My main goal is to try and find out who Onisuka is."

"Once Caro finds out who the target is I will talk to him before or after the auction and gain information on the items he won." Nanoha added in. "Best case scenario I will be able to get him alone and see it. Worst case I will have to follow him."

Subaru swallowed nervously. "I will be dancing with anyone who might be part of the conspiracy and try to uncover any information about what they have bid on, just incase there is more than one relic being sold."

"And I will be observing anyone who takes or brings in an item from the auction." Tia finished the confirmation.

"Good," Hayate nodded at them. "We're almost there, time to prepare yourselves. Vita-chan?"

"Okay," The forever young girl closed her eyes and concentrated. Seconds ticked by and when she re-opened them, Hayate was a little taller with waist length hair. Mature features graced her face, showing that of a girl approaching her mid-thirties. "There you go, Hayate."

"That's 'Mommy'." Hayate corrected her, making Vita blush darkly.

"Okay… Mommy." Vita's word made Nanoha snort, covering her mouth to prevent herself from laughing. Glaring, the small girl reached out and stomped her foot, instantly cutting off the giggles and making her give an apologizing glance.

"We're here," Fate stated as the limo parked. "Remember, the most important thing is to act casual and do _not_ meet anyone in the eyes. You want them to see you and forget you a few seconds later."

"Ma'am!" the door opened from the outside and one by one the girls carefully got out of their transportation. Fate was the first, gracefully walking on black high heels with a tight fitting elegant black dress with a large slit running up the side. Nanoha followed in a green dress that hugged her curves to her waist, where it flared out dramatically. A sheer scarf went around her back and looped around her arms to hold itself up. Her hair was done up in a simple bun, held on place by two jewel studded chopsticks.

Subaru, not being able to walk in heels, had on graceful slippers and a casual dress with sheer coverings around her arms. Her short hair was fixed to curl, giving her a rather cute look about her. To offset the childness of it, sapphire earrings hung from her lobes, turning her into a girl who border-lined being a woman.

Tia chose rather to wear a Chinese style dress of Nanoha's. The red silk clung to her body from the neck down to her waist, where a slit in it allowed her ample room to walk around in, as well as give any males around her a little eye candy. Her normal pigtails were gone, allowing her hair to flow out behind her casually.

Hayate and Vita came out next, wearing matching red frilly dresses that flared out with several ribbons tied to it for fashion. Hayate's version had black lace added to it, giving her a more mature look than her counterpart, who instead had a stuffed bunny in her arms. The red head's hair was let down as well, showing natural curls thanks to years of braiding.

Finally Elio slid out of the car, adjusting his tight collar of his black tuxedo slightly before offering his hand to Caro, who had a simple pink dress. It covered her shoulders completely with the rest of her arms being graced by long silk gloves. A soft clicking came when her sandal type shoes touched the ground, following her as she walked along with the group towards the long stairway that allowed for boarding.

Hayate spoke with the men standing next to the entrance and was granted permission to board along with her friends. Upon reaching the top the ship's captain took notice and went to properly greet them. "Welcome aboard," He cheerfully told them. "Please do make yourselves at home. We will be gathering in the main lobby once everyone is accounted for."

"Thank you sir." Hayate bowed lightly towards him.

"You are most welcome," He replied in kind before looking down at Vita. "Oh what a cutie you have there, is she your daughter?"

"Yes sir," Hayate looked down at her friend.

Vita hopped forward lightly, bending over almost in half in a bow. "It's a pleasure to meet you, sir!" She told him happily before lifting up and hugging her bunny in a cute girlish way.

"The pleasure is all mine little lady," The captain laughed merrily.

"Come on now, Vita-chan," Hayate motioned for her. "Let the nice man continue along, he's very busy."

"Yes ma'am," Vita instantly reached for and gripped two of Hayate's fingers, holding her stuffed animal with her free hand. "Will they have ice cream here too, mommy?" She looked up at Hayate as they walked along.

"We'll see, if you're a good girl."

"Yay!" Vita skipped a few steps along before walking properly.

Subaru's eyebrow twitched lightly. '_That's the same girl who knocked me out a few days ago…scary…_'

"_You have to play your part completely,_" Nanoha spoke to her mentally as she happily greeted the captain while introducing everyone. "_Or you'll blow everyone's cover._" Subaru nodded lightly towards Nanoha, making the girl smile. '_Although,_' The brown haired girl thought to herself, watching Vita retreat from them. '_Deep down, she's enjoying the chance to act like a child…_' The thought made her smile brightly to herself. '_I'm SO going to pet her later._'

* * *

"_How is it, Caro_?" Nanoha mentally pondered as the pink haired girl happily chatted with one of the people standing around.

"_No one has said the name, although there is someone here who seems to be a favorite._" Caro waved to the people before fixing the tray of glasses back on her hand and walking around, seeking out people with empty glasses. "_The man to your right in the brown suit and gray hair, his name is Oridarn. They say he will be the most successful today._"

"_Thank you, I'll look into it._" Nanoha walked over to the man and thanks to Elio's clever timing, bumped into him. "Oh excuse me sir," She apologized instantly. "It seems I'm not used to walking on a ship."

"Oh is this your first time?" He greeted her, taking a quick glance over her body.

Nanoha smiled and nodded at him. '_Most definitely not a gentleman is he?_' she thought to herself, subconsciously wishing her dress didn't show as much cleavage as it did. "Are you used to these kind of things, mister…?" She trailed off lightly.

"Oridarn, my lady."

"Oridarn-sama," She cooed at him.

Smiling, the man caught Elio's eye and got him to come over. "A drink for my new friend would you?"

"Right away sir!" He replied instantly, pulling his tray down from his palm held in the air and took a glass of champagne from it. "Here you are, Madam." He handed over the glass and bowed to them before continuing along his way.

"My, how thoughtful," Nanoha motioned with her free hand, brushing against him lightly in the process. Oridarn smiled to himself, making Nanoha inwardly smirk. '_Weakness to flirting, huh?_' She put on a large smile. "You simply must tell me how these auctions work so I won't make a fool of myself?"

"Most certainly!"

Fate watched the man talking to Nanoha for a moment before the two took to the dance floor. "_Tia-san, how goes your end?_"

"_Slow but steady,_" Tia thought back to her. "_I have a good perch to observe with no problems. A few people here are chatting to me about random things._"

"_Good, hold your position and let me know immediately if anything resembling a crystal comes in or out._"

"_Rodger._"

The blond looked around the room to find Hayate and Vita talking to a few people. Vita was using her child-like innocence to look around the room sharply in search for anything out of place while Hayate talked to random guest. Subaru crossed across her vision as she did a slow dance with one of the more charming males of the night, making the blond grin at her reactions at being forced to adapt to a dance she didn't really know. All in all she improvised rather well, making Fate a little proud. "_Subaru-san, hang in there,_" She thought to the Stars member happily. When no reply greeted her she tried again. "_Subaru-san? Subaru?_" testingly she looked over at Caro. "_Caro-san, can you hear me?"_ The pink haired girl kept walking past her, as if nothing happened. '_Dammit, an AMF… There has to be gadget drones somewhere nearby…I need to check in on Tia._'

Fate left the ballroom after talking to a random waiter to inquire on where the restrooms were. With a valid reason of not being in the main lobby, the girl proceeded to walk down the hallways, eyes glancing around while keeping her head forward. The way to where the items were being held was made in peace, but upon arriving she noticed that Tia was nowhere to be seen. She was about to turn back but a small glitter made her look down on the floor. Slowly she knelt down and picked up the empty cartridge shell, gripping it into her fist.

"Can I help you find something, miss?"

Fate stood up and turned around, looking at two men standing before her. "Yes," She flushed. "I'm looking for the powder room?"

"We'll be more than happy to show the way," The other spoke, stepping forward and ushering Fate away from where she knew they were. '_Nanoha!!_'

Back in the large lobby Nanoha felt a sudden sting in her heart, making her conversation falter. "Excuse me," She covered, holding a hand to her mouth. "Champagne is a little fizzy on a ship."

Oridarn chuckled merrily to himself, letting the slip up slide by him. "Yes, it rather is, isn't it?"

"Y-yes," Nanoha smiled at him. "_Fate-chan? Fate-chan!_" her telepathy got no reply, making her hold back a frown. "I'm sorry, I do think I need some fresh air, would you terribly mind if I take a moment?" She pawed at his hand in a flirting way.

"No, no, by all means my dear. I shall be around here when you return."

"Thank you," Nanoha walked a little ways away from him. '_Ugh I suddenly want to wash my hands,_' She repressed the urge to shiver and caught Caro's eye, holding her glass up lightly in a silent beckoning. When the young girl got close enough, she placed her half empty glass onto her tray. "Thank you little lass," She greeted. Before Caro walked away she whispered another word. "Distraction." She didn't look to see if she had heard, but instead continued along her way.

Caro walked instantly up to Yuuno, who was standing next to the auction stage talking with a few other males about fine art. "Excuse me, sir?" She spoke up to him, catching Yuuno's attention. "I was told to speak with you about my number?"

"Oh, that would be Sakisaku-san here you need," Yuuno picked up instantly. "Sir, it seems this young lady would like to put on a performance."

"My, how interesting." He looked over her, "What would you like to be played?"

"Um, something…exotic sounding, with lots of fast beats. I would like to dance, if it would please you, sir?"

Yuuno looked down at the girl, impressed that she had picked up on 'proper public speaking' so quickly. For being so young, the girl obviously had a lot of maturity to her.

"I have just the thing," Sakisaku spoke after thinking a moment. "When would you like it?"

"In five minutes, if you would?"

"Most certainly." Caro gave the man a curtsey before turning to track down Elio. "Girls are so cute at that age."

The girl found her partner a moment later, catching his eye and nodding to the side. The red head instantly began walking over to her and followed her trail past the side exit of the lobby and into a small dressing room used for performers putting on plays on the stage. "There's been a problem," She whispered quickly. "Nanoha-san left the room and asked me to put on a distraction."

"I haven't seen Fate lately either, nor Tia, they should have checked in… Okay, I'll get with Subaru-san and check things out. Hayate-san and Vita-san can stay here with you for the auction just incase we don't make it back in time."

"Okay," Caro nodded at him but grabbed the boy's arm when he turned to leave. "Um, before you go… can you undo my zipper? I can't reach it…"

"S-sure…" Elio watched his partner turn around and one shaking hand went to the small hidden zipper on her back. Slowly it came down, revealing her bare back.

"K-kya!" Caro quickly brought her hands up to catch the dress before it fell off of her, despite wearing another suit under it. "Thank you…"

"You're welcome…" Elio guiltily allowed himself just one more second to look at her before turning and leaving the room.

Caro blushed happily to herself when the door closed. '_I can't think about that,_' She shook her head quickly to clear it, allowing her dress to fall off her body completely, leaving her in a bikini top complete with shining pink scales on it that reflected light. Her bottom half was covered by the matching bottom half to the set, although she also had a sheer pink fabric coming from the bikini bottom that went all the way down to her ankles. Stepping out of the dress she looked around quickly to find what she needed, eventually coming across a long string with several small golden cymbals on it that jingled together when moved. Using it, she wrapped it around her stomach and tied it off. With a testing shake of her hips, she was pleased to find a soft jingling sound come from it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," Yuuno's voice came over the speakers of the room, signaling to her that it was time to go. "We have a special treat for you tonight!" He went on, catching everyone's attention. "From all the way across the country we have a charming little girl who is going to share with you a cultural dance! Please welcome Rushie!" A spotlight hit center stage, illuminating the little gypsy. Music started to flow into the lobby, getting everyone's attention on the girl on stage. At first she stood still, seemingly paralyzed by having everyone looking at her. '_Come on Caro…don't get stage shy…you can do this!_' Yuuno gripped his fist in anticipation.

Caro licked her lips lightly, lifting her head when the music picked up instantly and began to shake her hips to the beat as well as tap her feet in a rhythm. The sounds merged with the music, allowing her to twirl and dance freely as she remembered the dances she used to have with her tribe before she was exiled.

"Subaru-san," Elio whispered to the girl, standing next to her. "We need to go."

"Right," She allowed the male to leave the room first before following him. Once outside they began to run down the decks quickly. "What went wrong?"

"I don't know," he answered honestly as they made their way to where the items were supposed to be held. "Nanoha-san and Fate-san are gone. I think Nanoha will be back inside after she makes a round but we should get to the bottom of it."

"Rodger." Subaru nodded at him before flipping over a railing and landing on the deck below them. The girl sped along the hallways as fast as she could, ducking into corridors or sliding around corners when crew members would get close enough to see her. '_According to the blue prints, the items should be through this door and into the engine room…_' She put one hand on the door and slowly turned the knob. Bracing herself, she busted into the room and slid along the floor when a magical blast was shot right where she had been standing. Thinking fast, she kicked her leg up and nailed the man in his chin, knocking him out. "Aw man, I ripped my dress," She pouted, looking at the tear that had just happened. Several mumbling sounds made her look to the side, seeing Tia tied up and gagged. "Tia!" Quickly she ran over to her and freed the girl. "Are you okay?"

"Been better," She gasped out honestly when she was able to talk again. "No time; Fate allowed herself to be brought here but they don't think she's one of us. They went through that door." She pointed to emphasize. "We need to go the other way, some people are trying to steal the relic before it goes on auction. Fate-san can deal with the rest."

"Damn it, why did things have to get this complicated?" Subaru grimaced, pulling out her necklace. "No one but the criminals and smugglers will be down there, let's suit up and split to cover more ground."

"Agreed." Tia shifted her dress and plucked her device card from a garter belt high on her thigh. "…What?"

"Nothing," Subaru looked away. "It's not the time for that."

"… Let's go."

"Right."

* * *

Caro finished her dance by giving a small back flip, landing in a deep bow with one arm across her stomach and the other in the air beside her. The music faded out and the room erupted into a loud applause for the girl. Standing shyly, she looked out into the audience and smiled lightly. Several people commented on the cute girl while others joked about if she would be sold at the auction or not. '_Well, distraction complete,_' She shyly made her way off stage and back into the crowd. '_I'll get my dress after all this is over... I guess I need to keep everyone's attention so no one will notice that several guest are missing…_'

"Spectacular performance," A voice made Caro turn, looking up at Oridarn. "Tell me, is Rushie your stage name?"

"Y-yes sir!" She answered nervously, bowing.

"What is your name then?" He pondered.

"Eh!?" She blushed, realizing that she couldn't use her first name and also that she just admitted to her last name being false one made for the stage. "Um," Her eyes glanced around, trying to find something to name herself after. Finally her sight rested on Nanoha as she made her way over to them. "Na… Takamachi." She declared. "My name is Takamachi."

"Oh? The same name as," He saw Nanoha stop next to them, staring down at the girl, who was shaking nervously, afraid she just blew their cover.

"She's mine," Nanoha covered smoothly, placing both hands onto Caro's shoulders from behind.

"Oh, I see." Oridarn chuckled to himself. "Please forgive me, my lady, you look so pretty I didn't realize you were old enough to be a mother."

Nanoha had to force herself from faltering. '_I was going for sister…_' She laughed nervously. '_Do I look old enough to be a mother of a ten year old!?_' Nanoha rubbed Caro's shoulders to try and calm herself down. "What can I say, I age well, Hehehe…"

"I would say, you don't look a day over twenty five!"

Caro felt Nanoha's grip on her shoulders tighten, making her look up at her 'mother'. '_She's nineteen…_' She thought to herself. "Um… Mother?" the word seemed to have trouble coming from her mouth. "Do you mind if I get something to drink? I'm a little thirsty after dancing."

"Sure thing sweetheart," Nanoha pet her head. "Be sure to come back when the auction starts okay dear?"

"Yes ma'am." Caro almost saluted but stopped herself in time. "I'll be off then," She bowed to the man. "Thank you for the compliment, sir." With that, she trotted away to re-catch the attention of those around her.

* * *

Subaru blasted down a drone in her path and skated underneath another, ripping through its bottom side and shorting it out. '_I should be getting close,_' she mused, rolling down the metal walkways of the insanely large engine room. '_In fact, I think this next door should be-whoa!_' Subaru fell backwards to avoid being clotheslined by a sudden arm appearing before her. Instantly she had to roll away to avoid a stomp while she was on the ground. "Nice way of saying hello," She greeted the man, glaring.

"You've come to steal the Relic haven't you?" He countered her, getting in a fighting stance with magical spades coming from his knuckles. "I won't allow it!"

Subaru frowned, launching herself forward with a kick. The man easily caught the ankle sailing towards him and gripped it before slinging the girl behind himself using her own momentum against her. Subaru yelped at the sudden change in direction and screamed out when she cracked against a skinny pipe coming from the wall. Falling, she gripped her side, pushing back tears in her eyes. '_Oh my god, I think it broke one of my ribs…_' She looked up in fear. '_There's no way I can match that kind of power…_'

Pushing herself up anyway, she narrowed her eyes, blurring around him when he charged at her and punched. Looking back, the girl gasped at the hole in the wall where his hand went. The man turned and dashed towards her, punching and sending the girl reeling. Her shield shattered in front of eyes as she ricocheted off the wall and slid along the ground, leaving a blood smear on the floor. '_He has to be at least double A…_' her eyes teared up as she stood once more. '_I can't even see him move…_' Turning, she set her accelerators and retreated. One hand held her ribs while the other flailed out for balance. Her instincts made her duck, feeling the wind of a punch over her head. The attack hit the wall next to her, shattering it instantly.

Her skates twisted around to allow the girl to slide backwards. Subaru panted out, looking at the man crack his knuckles. '_No good, I can't run like this_…' With a frown she shot forward, raising her hand to strike. The man side stepped slowly, making her eyes go wide. '_I've seen this before!_' Quickly Subaru brought a hand to her chest and caught the man's elbow before it crashed into her. The momentum caused her body to flip upwards and twist. Her hands went to the man's shoulder, mind picturing Vita doing the same thing to her earlier. With a sharp kick she buried the front wheel of her rollerblade into the man's temple, knocking him to the side and into the wall. Not stopping, two shells shot out of her glove before she roughly punched the man's stomach, breaking the wall and sending him through it.

Subaru panted harshly, gripping her side that was still bleeding. '_I… I did it…_' Slowly she turned and skated off down the hallway and back to the door of the room standing out in the middle of the engine area. '_Now to just get the relic and get the hell off this ship…_' Her weak pace stopped slowly as the sounds of crunching metal came to her ears. Ever so slowly she turned around, breath getting faster as the man she had just knocked down pulled himself through the hole. "No…" She skated backwards. "No… No!" Terrified, she stumbled back around and tried to skate faster, ribs now screaming in pain from the sudden movements. "Stay back!" Up in front of her she saw Tia land on top of the room she was originally supposed to be going into. '_Tia! Help me!_' She couldn't find the words, mouth too busy gasping for air.

Tia looked to the side, seeing Subaru stumbling away from a large man chasing her. '_He must be the main guy,_' Her guns aimed at the man. '_Subaru, are you hurt_?_' _her mind hazed slightly. '_I guess you always do need me to watch out for you…_'

'_Tia! Tia! Tia! Tia!_' Subaru faltered her escape.

'_Then why are you making me run from you? Can't you see that you're putting too much on me?_'

'_Why hasn't she shot yet!? Is something wrong Tia!?'_

Tears fell from the girl's eyes. '_I can't think straight Subaru, can't you see that?_'

'_She'll shoot…she'll shoot… I know she'll shoot… Save me Tia!_'

Tia shook her head, gripping her pistols again. '_No, I have to focus on the here and now! I have to…_'

"Tiaaaaaaaaa!" Subaru blasted forward as the man finally reached her and threw a punch.

"Subaru!?" Tia fired her guns, hitting the man and knocking him back several yards onto his back. "Oh my god, Subaru!" Dropping quickly, she ran over to her. "I…I…" Swallowing, she tried to find her words. "Say something… Subaru say something! Anything!" Turning her over, she gasped at the blood on her hands. "Subaru… no, no! You're okay! You have to be okay!"

"One down…" The man grunted, pushing himself up and wiping the blood from his chest where he was shot. "You have more spunk than her at least. Managed to actually hurt me."

"You… you… you…" Tia stood up, guns shaking into her hands

"I killed her," He confirmed standing right in front of the smaller girl. "And now I'll kill you."

Tia screamed, eyes dilating to the point where there was no color left in her eyes. Before she could even think her guns were already in front of her. "Barrier break," Cross Mirage stated calmly, blasting two shots that shattered the barrier the mage had in front of him and knocking him onto his back form the force of it. Before he could react, Tia was already on top of him, still screaming. "Rapid fire."

The sound of magical gunfire rang loudly through the empty engine room of the ship. Long moments passed by as the screaming and blast continued before finally the sounds of clicking echoed throughout.

Tia panted as the smoke cleared, fingers still clicking the empty barrels of her gun. Slowly she became aware of herself again as her adrenaline wore off. Gasping out, she looked down at the man beneath her. All at once her stomach twisted at the sight, forcing the girl to stumbled back and drop her guns. Cross mirage instantly went into card form and into her pocket. The girl, however, could only clamp a hand over her mouth before falling to her knees and throwing up.

"Tia-san!" Elio's voice came to her ears, making her look blankly behind herself. The male landed on top of the room before jumping down from it and looked at her. "…What is it?"

"Don't' look," Tia spat sickly before crawling a few paces. Once she was farther away from the sight that would forever haunt her, she stood up. "The relic…get it. Subaru needs help. I'll carry her."

"Subaru-san?" Elio looked behind himself at the girl lying in a smeared area of blood. "…Oh no…"

"Hurry!" Tia screamed at him as she carefully lifted her. "She wouldn't…" The girl had to swallow in mid sentence. "Want us to fail this mission because of this…"

* * *

Nanoha looked at the man next to her as Yuuno was wrapping up yet another auction for some sort of vase. Oridarn was getting more and more impatient as time went by, obviously mad that his item hadn't been up for bid yet. "_Nanoha_!?"

The girl blinked. "_Fate-chan_?" She asked mentally to the person contacting her.

"_Good, that was the last of the drones._" She sounded relieved. "_There were two groups trying to steal the relic. I took care of one of them, Subaru-san and Tia-san should be onto the other._"

"_I think they succeeded,_" Nanoha smiled to herself as Yuuno announced that the last item for auction had been sold. "_The relic didn't make it to the stage, they must have it._"

"_Great."_ Fate replied happily. "_I'm heading to the main deck now._"

"_I'll take care of Onisuka here, it's obviously him now._" Nanoha watched the man stand up and walk out of the isle of people. Quickly following, she tailed the man until he made it outside. "Oridarn-sama? Why didn't we bid on anything?" She asked innocently. "I wanted to raise your number for you!"

"What are those fools _doing_!?" He suddenly demanded, slamming his hand onto the ship railing. "They had one job, _one_!"

"Sir?"

"I'm sorry missy," Onisuka turned and raised a gun up to her. "But you've been with me long enough, heard too much."

"I wouldn't do that," Vita stated, pointing her hammer up at the man as well. "I would hate to get blood stains on my pretty dress."

Onisuka glared down at the girl. "Mages…"

"Top rank mages," Vita corrected him.

"I'm afraid she's correct." Nanoha quickly flashed her hand up, making the gun fly from his hands by hitting it with a magical ball of energy. "The game's up, Onisuka." She watched the man jump backwards and try to run, only to get knocked out by Hayate's staff. "Well, that was nice."

"There's Fate," Vita mused, seeing the girl walk over to them in a slightly ruffled dress. "Where are the others?"

"I'm here," Caro greeted them, holding her dress in her arms, along with Vita's stuffed rabbit. "Yuuno was just contacted by Elio, he's going to send a clean up crew to the engine room, there was a battle there as well as where Fate-san was."

"Well then… All we need now are my two stars members and Elio-kun."

"Nanoha-saaaaaan!" Tia cried desperately as she ran towards them with Subaru in her arms. "She's hurt!"

* * *

"How is she?" Nanoha asked Shamal when the girl walked out of the emergency operating room.

"Broken ribs, and her body seems to be one giant bruise. From the looks of it she was thrown against or hit with every inanimate object around her. Her back was hurt pretty bad as well, and I'm afraid she'll be bedridden for almost a week… Even after that I won't allow her to train for another few days, if that soon."

"So she'll be all right…right?" Tia asked quickly, wiping her eyes with her arm. "Right!?"

"Yes, she will make a complete recovery in time. She will be in intensive care for another two days at most. As long as her condition doesn't worsen she will be fine."

"She can worsen!?" Tia almost screamed.

"Tia-san, calm down." Fate put a hand onto the shorter girl's shoulder. "Shamal is the best of the best. Subaru will be okay."

"I need a definite answer!" She screamed at the blond, voice breaking.

"Shamal-san," Nanoha asked calmly. "Can we see her?"

"I'm afraid I'd rather have her alone right now, I don't want her to wake up and exert any energy." The blond apologized with her eyes.

"Okay then," Nanoha motioned to the people around her. "Well then, it's late and we need to get some rest after today's mission." She motioned for the Lightning members to follow her out, joined by Hayate and her knights, save the doctor.

"Tia-san," Fate started when Shamal went back into the room to check on Subaru. "What are you not telling me?"

"I…" Tia looked down. "I hesitated… I could have shot the man coming after her instantly, but my mind wondered…"

Fate took a long intake of air through her nose. "So this is your fault?"

"…Yes."

"Tia-san?"

"Yes ma'am?"

Fate turned to look at her. "You killed someone today didn't you?" She knew the answer before she asked it, Yuuno having informed her of the body close to the item storage room.

"…Yes ma'am."

"I don't know what happened exactly, but the reason you took a life was because you hesitated to save one, correct?"

"I… I thought she was dead…because I didn't help her right away… I…I…"

"Why did you hesitate?" Fate turned to look at her and forced the girl to look up into her eyes as well. "Tell me."

"Be…Because I…" She closed her eyes tightly. "Subaru and I… we were drunk and we had sex with each other…and…"

"…And?"

"…And I couldn't deal with that, with the feelings it was giving me…So I ran from her… When I saw her trying to get away from that man I… I don't know, my mind just froze. I couldn't think because all I saw was Subaru and my unclear feelings…"

"Tia-san." Fate lifted her chin up with a finger. "You will see and experience many, many things on and off the battlefield. No matter what happens, you must always act when you need to. If you don't, things like this will happen."

Tia glared up at her, sniffing. "How… How can you say that so _calmly_!?" Her voice started getting louder. "I _killed_ someone tonight, Fate! I almost lost the person I care about!"

"I know, but getting upset will only-"

"Only what? Annoy you?" Tia wiped her eyes quickly, still sniffing. "Remind you how indifferent you've become!? How could someone so cold like you ever understand what it's like to be so scared of a relationship!? You have a fairytale love life, you can't even begin to imagine what I'm going through right now!"

Fate slapped the girl in front of her quickly, making her stop her rambling. "Tia," She began, trying to keep her voice steady. "As your captain I will guide you along the correct path and encourage you as best I can, accepting you mistakes. How_ever_, I will not sit here and let you belittle Nanoha and myself like that. You think you are the only one who's had problems!? Ha!" Fate laughed bitterly at her. "You are the one who has no idea what it's like, Tia. You don't know how it feels to be called 'The Terror of Death' and 'The White Devil'. _You_ don't know what it's like to be talked about behind your back. Let me ask you, Tia, I'm sure you've heard the expression 'Ace muff divers' used to make fun of lesbian couples haven't you?" She got a small shocked nod while still holding her cheek. "That term came into being because of the two young Ace girls who just so happened to find love in each other. Yeah; us. We have been together through good times and bad, through the taunts and jeers and through the encouragement. We have fought and thrown things at each other and held each other close crying. _You_ are the one who's clueless, Tiana." Fate glared down at her. "Look in there, Tiana." When the girl didn't, Fate grabbed her and turned her head to look at Subaru laying in the hospital bed. "You don't want to see this do you?"

"N-no," She sobbed out.

"Then don't hesitate, Tia!" Fate turned her to once again meet her eyes, suddenly softening. "Stop hesitating. On the battlefield, or in your love life. It's okay to be scared, it's okay to be nervous. It's _okay_, Tia. So don't make yourself confused."

"I…I'm sorry," the girl choked out, sniffing again as tears fell from her eyes. "I'm just so, so scared!"

"It's okay…" Fate opened her arms and let the girl hug her. "It's okay…"

"I l-love her!" Tia cried out softly, gripping Fate's shirt. "I can't do anything without her, I'm too scared to even try!"

"Shhh… Its okay, let it all out."

"I …I…I…!" Tia hugged her tighter.

* * *

"Nanoha-san?" Caro reached up and grabbed the girl's shirt before she could leave her room.

"Yes, what is it Caro-san?" Kneeling down, she got to eye level with her.

"Um…Well," She looked at her nervously. "I'm sorry." The pink haired girl bowed deeply. "For…For using your name today."

"It's okay, I don't mind." Nanoha giggled. "Actually I'm rather happy about it. I've been a little jealous of Fate, to tell the truth." She winked. "Elio is like a son to her, even if he is technically her brother. I want to take care of someone too. I'm sorry if I act that way to you, Caro-san, I know you're a big girl."

"It, its okay." Caro suddenly looked like she was about to cry. "I… never had a mother before. Everyone at my tribe took turns taking care of me…before…before…"

"I know sweetheart," Nanoha whispered softly. "I was the one who told Fate-chan about you."

"When Fate-san 'rescued' me from those people…It was the first time someone ever cared for me…It felt really nice…" She looked down. "Tonight… was the first time I ever called someone 'mother'… I just wanted to say…" Caro looked up at her. "I'm glad it was you."

"Caro…-chan." Nanoha pulled the girl against her chest and held her. All at once the young one started to cry, gripping her shirt. '_She probably never allowed herself to think about it… Never knew any difference… Now that she's here with us, and she sees families all the time…It must be hard on her. Even Elio had Fate-chan to take care of him for a few years before coming here… Caro was just exiled and thrown around like a doll until Fate brought her here last month…_'

"I'm sorry," Caro finally said, sniffing. "I got your shirt all wet…"

"It's okay," Nanoha whispered. "Say, Caro-chan?"

"Yes?"

"I don't know how good of one I'll be, but if you want… you can call me 'mother'?"

Caro moved back just enough to look at the older woman holding her. "…Really?"

Nanoha smiled and nodded down at her. "Yeah."

"You'll…take care of me?"

"Of course."

"And…scold me if I'm bad and hug me if I'm good?"

"I do that anyway, don't I?" She laughed lightly.

Her small hand went up to Nanoha's shoulders slowly before she threw herself against her in a hug again. "…Mother?"

"Yes," Nanoha held her.

"Can I call you mommy too?"

"Yes," She nodded again. "So any time something is troubling you, come to me all right?"

"…Thank you!"

"Say, want to come sleep with me tonight?"

"Sure," Caro hugged her tighter. "Will Fate-san be there too?"

"Yes she will, and we'll all sleep in our giant bed." Nanoha let go of the girl and held her hand, leading her out of her room and back into the hallways. '_These children need as much of a home-life as they can get, or the military will just brain wash them into killing machines…_' Her hand held onto Caro's a little tighter, smiling down at her. '_I won't let that happen… not to my little ones._'

* * *

Notes: Fate's outbreak was hard for me to try and convey properly. First off she isn't really the type to just slap someone and go off. The only way I could think to rile her up enough to do something like that would be for someone to belittle her relationship with Nanoha. Of course we know that Fate was abused and was saved from it by Nanoha, and in my story, they admitted their love while one of them was dying. Of course no same-sex relationship, especially military, would go without being frowned upon by close minded people. So, add them all up and I think that Fate's outburst would be in character, at least in my story. Remember it's an AU and different things happened, so please keep that in mind. Following the outburst was a sentimental version of Fate that not many get to see. I imagine her reflecting back on her own doubts and feelings of insecurities, then using that to try and encourage Tia to not make the same mistakes that she did. No relationship is perfect, and Fate and Nanoha may love each other a lot, but couples always fight. It's pointless to think otherwise. I bet those two have had some nasty arguments over the simplest little things, like Nanoha not picking up her dirty cloths haha.

As for Caro, I'm sorry if you don't like her scene at the end. She's ten, and already in the military after being exiled from the people who took care of her. The girl needs a mother, and fast. Nanoha and Fate are the only ones there for her so naturally it would be one or both of them. Currently, I think it would be both. Her dancing? Something just for the AU I have going here. Her 'tribe' and magic users and dragon summoning had to have some sort of custom or ritual dance for special occasions. I gave Caro the ability to dance (in this case, a type of belly dance) because A.) it seems fitting for her background and B.) It's gosh darn cute to have an innocent girl shaking her hips and making people feel guilty for watching her. She's going to be quite a heart breaker when she grows up.

Fate's driving? I'm not good at cars at all, nor do I know anything about them, so I did some research by watching "The Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift" Why did I make Fate so good at driving? In the anime she has a sweet looking car that you know isn't issued to her by the military (look at the military-ish cars shown in other episodes, they are all ATV camouflage vehicals.). So every girl needs a funny quirk. Fate just likes cars in my story.


	4. Chapter 4

My dream faded around me when I felt the back of my neck being breathed on. Normally I wouldn't mind since Nanoha always seemed to do that whenever my back wasn't pressed against the wall, but this time I felt my hair being shifted to the side and gentle lips being placed on the base of my neck. Against my will a content moan escaped as I snuggled back up against the girl teasing me. The motion got me a quiet happy giggle and I felt her arm wrap around my waist, hand instantly going to my breast. Purring, I felt the lips return to kissing me as I squirmed in her hold, smiling brightly. Of all the ways to be awoken in the morning time, _this_ was by far my favorite.

**TSAB: 6****th**** Mobile Division IV**

**By: Satashi**

"Shhh," Nanoha whispered softly, trailing her other hand lower after sliding around so she would be half on top of her. "Caro-chan's in the shower."

"We'll be fast," Fate moaned out contently when Nanoha's hand found that _spot_.

"I don't know how long we have, I just woke up," Nanoha licked Fate's ear slowly, making the blond shiver and wiggle in her grasp.

"Then stop teasing me," The red eyed girl rolled over in her arms and met her mouth in a solid deep kiss.

"I'm out," Caro informed them as the bathroom door opened, making both girls instantly push away from each other. "I'm sorry, did I wake you two?"

"N-no, we always get up around this time when we sleep in," Nanoha blushed, laughing nervously.

"Did you have a nice shower?" Fate sat up in bed and held the covers to her chin, adjusting her clothing properly behind them.

"Yes, it was very relaxing." Walking over to them, Caro gave both girls a good morning hug. "Thank you for letting me stay with you last night, even though I just did the night before too…"

"Don't mention it," Nanoha smiled at her honestly. "Anytime you have a nightmare you can come to us. If we don't answer the door right away, just knock harder."

"Okay!" Caro smiled brightly. "Can I make you breakfast as a thank you?"

"That would be wonderful," Fate confirmed smiling as the pink haired girl nodded happily, trotting downstairs.

Nanoha fell back on her bed and sighed out. "We haven't made love in three days, I'm going through withdrawal."

"Three days? That has to be some sort of record when we're together, miss bunny."

Slate blue eyes looked over at her sideways. "I never heard you complain before."

The blond put on the most innocent look she could muster up. "I don't know what you mean."

"If I'm a bunny then that would make you a Jack Rabbit."

"Hey!" Fate smacked her girlfriend lightly with a pillow, blushing.

Nanoha stayed quiet a moment, listening to Caro mess around downstairs. "Hey…It'll take at least ten minutes before she can walk away from cooking…?" She lifted an eyebrow.

"…She'll hear!" Fate whispered softly, embarrassed. The look on Nanoha's face clearly told her that she didn't really have a choice in the matter. "Mou, you pervert."

"Nya haha," Nanoha leaned up and over rubbing their noses together. "I love you, Fate-chan."

"Hehe, I love you too." She counter rubbed and grinned at her. The two leaned to kiss, but a sudden knocking at the door made them both sigh and move away from each other. "Yes, who is it!?"

"Private Elio, ma'am!" The voice from the door called up to them

"Caro-chan could you let him in please?"

"Yes ma'am!"

The two lovers looked at each other a moment more before reluctantly sliding out of bed and getting dressed.

* * *

"…Ugh… Wha…" The world slowly came into focus as Subaru opened her eyes. The roof above her blurred slightly from the lights, hurting her pupils in the process. Her field of view shifted to the side, seeing an I.V. drip slowly while running a fluid into her arm. With a groan her memories of being defeated in battle came back to her. She tried to bring a hand up to rub her face but found that she couldn't quite seem to manage the feat. Upon inspection she noticed that Tia's upper body was lying on her bed, hand gripping hers while asleep. "Tia…"

The pistol user looked up at the beckoning of her name lightly, blinking a few times to clear her mind. "Su…Subaru!" All at once she slid over closer to the girl's face, still gripping the hand. "Are you okay!? Do you hurt anywhere!? Can I get you anything!?"

"Tia…" Subaru smiled, closing her eyes and laying back. "Did you hold my hand all this time?"

"….Maybe." She gave the hand a small squeeze. "We'll talk about that later, how are you?" Her panicking dropped quickly when the girl didn't seem to be in any pain.

"Stiff. My body won't listen to me. Was I hurt that bad?"

Tia nodded slightly. "Yeah. Yeah, you got tossed around quite a bit. I'm sorry for that."

"What happened?" She wondered, looking as if she was still dazed and tired. "All I remember is seeing you and thinking to myself 'I'm saved, Tia will help me' and then a blinding pain…"

Tia blinked, sending a single tear down her cheek. "I'm sorry… I'm so sorry Subaru… If it wasn't for me…"

"Hey, don't cry? Why would you cry?" The blue haired girl finally managed to move her hand and clumsily wipe away the smear of water. "Tia, you never cry."

"I cry all the time, you know that," She countered, re-gripping the hand with both of hers. "You always gave me that damned stuffed turtle when you thought I was sad."

Subaru smiled at the memory of their boot camp. "And you would protest about it being stupid but would still sleep with it."

"And you bought me my own teddy bear on my birthday."

"You still sleep with it," Subaru finished the thought happily. "Tia… You forgive me?"

"For what?"

"For being so self-centered?"

The two looked at each other a moment before Tia closed her eyes. "I'm the one who should be apologizing, Subaru… I shouldn't have said those things." Slowly she took a breath.

"Tia…"

"I'm just scared," She rubbed Subaru's hand gently. "I'm scared and I'm nervous and I'm unsure and, and, I'm a lot of other things." A moment of silence washed over them before she could continue. "But…when I thought I might lose you… Everything else didn't matter anymore. All I wanted then was to be able to see you smile again… I wanted another chance to do things over again."

"What do you mean?" The girl looked like she was about to fall asleep again at any moment.

"Subaru…Just get some rest, we can talk later."

"Okay. Keep holding my hand?" She got a small curt nod. "Thank you…" Slowly her eyes closed and she drifted off to sleep once again.

'… _I couldn't tell her…_'

* * *

Nanoha smiled down at her students as they lay smoking on the ground beneath her. "Do you think we hurt them?" She asked merrily as she swung her legs underneath the tree branch she was sitting on. "Maybe it was too early for them to go up against two people at the same time?"

"Nah, they're just tired from the mission and non-stop training afterwards." Yuuno waved it off with one hand, the other in his pocket. The male was clad in a new version of his barrier jacket which consisted of blue jean pants with silver trim, pitch black boots highlighted in the same silver, and a tank top shirt also void of color. "You know, Caro-san has a lot of potential. Her spells really boosted up everyone's power." He looked over at the pink girl who was currently so tired she appeared to be asleep on her back. "Did you notice that her spells particularly effected-"

"Yes I did," She cut him off. "We're looking into that." Nanoha gave him a look that clearly read 'we'll talk about it later'.

"I seeeeee," he let the word linger as Tia pushed herself up. "Oh, is it time for round two?"

"You guys are ruthless…" Tia whispered shakily. "I can barely stand, let alone fight…"

"If Caro-san hadn't given us all her magical power…" Elio spoke from the ground, too weak to stand. "We wouldn't have lasted _this_ long."

"A support mage is the best kind of mage," Yuuno agreed.

"Hey, flying mages are the best!" Nanoha countered instantly.

"No way, where would you be right now without me and my barriers?"

"Right here, just not as pretty," Nanoha stuck out her tongue at him.

"Pretty. Right." He chuckled to himself, enjoying the chance to play with his best friend.

"Hey! I am pretty! Fate-chan tells me everyday!"

"Sure sure, if 'Fate-chan' says so," Yuuno shrugged playfully, teasing Nanoha enough to jump off her branch and storm over to him, looking up. "Hello there, Nanoha, have you gotten shorter?" His hand was placed on her head.

"I've grown an inch!" She countered, flailing out her arms. "You're just are abnormally tall!"

Tia looked over her shoulder towards Elio. "I don't know if they're best friends or enemies…" The pair watched the older people continue to argue a moment longer before Nanoha finally went in for the kill.

"Yuuno-kun, stop arguing with me, you know I'm right."

"Are not!"

The girl pointed to her chest. "Yuuno-kun what are these?"

"…Boobs?"

"And do you have any?"

"No?"

"Therefore I win by default." She crossed her arms and nodded to herself.

"Where's the logic in _that_!?" The male almost screamed, blushing. "Females don't instantly win, that's not fair!"

"Life isn't fair," She cooed at him, winking.

"It could at least be not fair in my favor… Besides, you barely have any breast; I've seen guys with larger boobs than you."

"_What_!?"

Yuuno grinned and waved. "On that note, I'm going to get some food, buh-bye!" Without waiting for an answer he leapt into the air and sped away before Nanoha could even realize that he had made an escape.

Grumbling, Nanoha walked over to her students. "Stupid ferret…He doesn't have to make fun of me… I'm still growing… lots of girls don't get large breast this early in life…" She helped Elio to his feet and walked over to Tia. "I mean, sure, I'm still only an A-cup but it's not like…" Nanoha paused, looking down at Tia.

"…What?" She asked nervously, realizing Nanoha's gaze was on her chest. "…They're C…"

"Hmph!" The older woman walked past her, turning up her nose, in favor of picking up Caro.

* * *

"Fate-san, where have you been!?" The secretary of the office building called out to the blond when she walked through the doors. "Hayate-san has been looking for you for the past hour!"

"What, why?" Fate blinked, walking over to her.

"The new members are here today for the welcoming ceremony! Didn't you get the memo?!"

"It said it was next month!"

"It was pushed forward, we told everyone!" The secretary looked frantic as it was, obviously having way too much work for her to handle on her own. "We made sure to post it on all the desk and on the notice boards and-"

"I was undercover and teaching the forwards how to do it as well this past _week_!" Fate almost screamed at her. "I haven't come in this office since then; Hayate-chan should know that!" One hand went to her mouth to nervously bite her nails. "Okay, I can deal with this. How long do I have to prepare my welcoming speech?"

"Fifteen minutes."

"What!?" Fate gasped out openly. "Okay… okay…" She took a slow breath. "What after that?"

"You were assigned to review their history and position them where they need to be."

"Not so bad, how many?"

"Twenty. We need this done by end of the day tomorrow."

Fate almost collapsed. "On top of the paperwork I let build up on me the past week… Can I get some assistance?"

"Sorry ma'am, we're all backlogged as well. Expanding to cover local area police force and civilian protection has made us all double our work; we're still severely understaffed."

"Well we're only a month old…Right then, I'm going to see Hayate-chan."

"Please do," She saluted Fate briskly before going back to work.

* * *

Tia opened the door to Subaru's room slowly, peeking her head in to check if the girl was asleep or not before heading in. "She's gone," Shamal's voice came from behind her, making Tia almost slam her head in the door from shock. "Tia-san, don't think I'm not aware of you sneaking in after I kick you out. You know when visiting hours are."

"S-sorry!" Tia saluted her quickly.

"It's not that I don't know how you feel, but when I tell you to scoot then it's probably because I think the patient needs to _rest_, you know?"

"Yes ma'am."

"Then please take care of her and let the poor child get plenty of rest okay? Nanoha-chan came by and picked her up earlier. Subaru-san should be in your dorm room, do_ not_ let her stress herself for another few days."

"Yes ma'am." Tia shifted nervously. "Um, I really am sorry about disobeying order like that. I was just really, _really_ nervous."

"Don't let it bother you; Fate-chan and Nanoha-chan were worse." Shamal let out a sigh. "When one of them got hurt bad enough to be put in a hospital bed the other one would instantly teleport over and stay with them until they got better. You wouldn't believe the crap Admiral Chrono had to go through because of that. If it had been any normal mage and not a child prodigy…" Shamal shook her head suddenly. "I'm rambling. Go on, go take care of your friend, and be sure to put the lotion on her bruises all right?"

"Thank you ma'am!" Tia smiled at her before saluting one final time and running off. The path to the residential area was made as quickly as she could manage without making herself look like she was running. Upon entering she waited impatiently for the elevator to get to the bottom floor and was pleasantly surprised to find some new members of the 6th division board with her, each saluting their senior in the force. The elevator stopped on the second floor to allow some of the new red-shirts to leave before Tia finally managed to get to her own floor and over to the room she shared with Subaru. Upon entering she saw Nanoha drying her room mate's hair while chatting happily with her.

"Oh, Tia," Subaru greeted her. "Shamal-sensei released me today."

"Yeah, she told me," Tia blushed lightly, suddenly feeling embarrassed at seeing her with only a towel on.

"Well if Tia-san is here, I'll leave the rest up to her." Nanoha gave Subaru a pat on the head before standing. "I have a little paperwork to do thanks to the new recruits."

"Oh they're here?" Subaru pondered, looking up at her teacher from the bed. "They are going to be local police for the city right?"

"That's right. The sixth division will protect on a local basis and help with disaster relief as well as important things. We will handle only the important stuff, and train when not on a mission, just as before. The new people are technically part of us, but they will be run a little separately." The girl let out a sigh. "I'm not even going to get to train them but once every other week or so. They didn't even need me at the welcoming ceremony… Anyway," She smiled at Tia on her way out of their room. "I need to go shopping, my farmer called me today."

"Farmer?" Tia pondered, too curious to let it slide by.

"Yes, I met a middle aged farmer named 'Elk' several years ago when the Asura was on shore leave. He was severely understaffed to pick his small field so I helped him out." Nanoha giggled at the memory. "I even helped him sell things on his little farmer's stand, and as payment he gave me a bushel of peaches."

"Oh that's right," Subaru realized. "I've heard people joke about you and peaches."

"Love them," Nanoha winked. "So I'm going to pick some up!"

Tia shook her head as the woman finally left. "Nanoha-san…sometimes I don't know if she's older or younger than me…"

"But that's what makes her so great," Subaru winced lightly when she tried to move. "Ow…"

"What's wrong?" Tia sat on the bed next to her and put a hand on her bare shoulder. "Do you hurt?"

"Just my ribs," She complained softly, closing her eyes in annoyance. "I can move around now that I'm used to not being in bed again, but Shamal-sensei told me that I have a broken rib and two cracked ones, so it hurts a lot when I shift my upper body. Rapid healing magic isn't a good idea since you can't set ribs in proper place…I'm going to have to tough this one out."

"I see…" Tia looked at Subaru a moment before slowly reaching out and putting an arm around her shoulders. "Um, if you need anything, just ask me okay?"

Subaru blushed darkly and looked down. "Thank you…Tia?"

"Yes, Subaru?"

"Um… can you help me get dressed…?" She looked up nervously, laughing slightly.

* * *

Fate groaned softly as the door to her apartment was opened. Stepping into the dark room she kicked off her shoes without even bothering to bend over to properly remove them. Once free from the restraints she used one foot to scoot them out of the way of the door and walked over to the stairs. '_I shouldn't be here,_' her mind complained as she sleepily and angrily walked up the steps. '_I don't have time to sleep, I have so much I need to-_' her thoughts were cut off when she suddenly tripped and fell to the floor. "Dammit Nanoha, I told you several times to not leave your clothes all over the floor!"

"Ugnnn….?" Nanoha opened her eyes slightly, still half asleep on the bed. "Sorry Fate-chan…" No sooner than she said the words than did she drift back off to sleep once again.

Fate growled and tossed the fabrics across the room and into a basket that held most of her own dirty clothes. '_Can this day get –any- worse?_' She unbuttoned her uniform and placed it on the back of her desk chair before stripping the rest of the way down and crawling into bed, not bothering to even get into her night cloths. '_Everything went wrong today and to top it all off I worked until…_' A quick glance at her clock told her the time. '_Two in the morning, great. I have three and a half hours to sleep before doing it –all- over again._' With a groan she got under the covers and pressed her back up against the wall.

"Fate-chan," Nanoha whispered out, crawling over to her and cuddling. Her leg slid between Fate's a moment before she winced. "Ew, Fate-chan, shave you legs, you're like a porcupine."

"If you don't like it, don't cling on me," She retorted, miffed at the statement after her long day.

"Jeez," Nanoha muttered sleepily, moving away from her. "Someone's cranky." She didn't get a reply so she closed her eyes, once more going back to sleep. A few moments passed before she was awoken briefly by Fate turning over onto her back. Once she managed to get back to sleep she was awoken again by Fate turning around and muttering something about work. A third time she was awoken by her room mate when she asked Bardiche to remind her of something in the morning. Finally a fourth time made her groan when Fate shifted once more. "Fate-chan, stay _still_ please."

"You're not the only one who can't sleep," She snapped at her. "I can't get comfortable."

Nanoha frowned into the darkness and rolled over so her back was facing Fate. Slowly her mind began to drift off once again before her girlfriend reclaimed her back to wall position and pulled the covers to cover herself. "I can't deal with this," She finally spoke up, moving so her feet slid off the bed and grabbing two pillows. "I'm sleeping on the couch."

"Ugh fine," Fate pulled the covers more and tried to hide herself from the world. "I want to be alone anyway."

'_You want a hug, you dumb girl,_' Nanoha thought to herself as she walked down the stairs. '_If you have a day –that- bad you can at least tell me instead of just snapping at me, jeez.' _The girl tossed her pillows onto the couch and lay down, pulling the throw comforter down to cover herself.

The morning light came soon, forcing Nanoha to cover her head with the blanket since she was directly under the large windows. Awoken once more, she heard Fate move around upstairs and get dressed before coming down. A moment passed before she sighed out. "Nanoha-chan are we out of coffee?"

"Yes," She muttered, trying to bury herself under the dark covers to try and get some more sleep.

"Why didn't you tell me so I could buy some?"

"I _did_, Fate." Nanoha growled, dropping the honorific to show that she was currently annoyed. "Please, just let me sleep!"

"At least _one_ of us can sleep," She muttered, going to put on her shoes before heading back out to work. "By all means, enjoy!" The door closed a little harder than she intended it to, but she currently didn't care. Already she was dreading the multiple stacks of paper on her desk that she _should_ have done instead of wasting her time by coming home.

The path towards the office building was made quickly with no one else to bother her. Currently it was still too early for even the morning bird joggers to be out on their routes, a fact that made Fate even more annoyed that she had to spend the next thirteen hours sitting at a desk while other people were snoring in their beds. Upon entering the building she nodded to the secretary who was just swapping places with the one that she was more familiar with. "Morning," She greeted briskly as she headed to the elevator. The ride up was short and she walked through the almost empty floor full of cubicles and office furniture. Her desk was sectioned off from the rest, having its own room with glass walls complete with in-glass blinds in case she ever wanted privacy. The door opened to her beckoning, having forgotten to lock it the day before.

Inside was neat and clean, decorated with countless pictures and award certificates. Her chair cushioned her fall as she flomped back into it and popped her knuckles. All at once she stopped the bad habit before being half way finished, an image of Nanoha flashing before her mind as she scolded her to stop doing it before she got arthritis when she was older. The thought made her look to a small picture frame on her desk; an image of Nanoha and herself laughing together. With a groan she turned the picture away from her field of view, having sudden bad feelings for having snapped at her about everything. "Bardiche," She called to her device. "Work mode, bring up today's schedule and organize files to be sorted through…please." She added as an afterthought, also realizing that she hadn't been too polite with anyone the last day.

Slowly the hours ticked by as she worked, breaking apart all the files of the past week and the new folders of recruits just transferred to her section. Although she wouldn't be directly involved with the new people, she was still technically in charge of the people who were in charge of them and as such, she had to not only watch over them, but make sure their superiors did their job as well. A knock on her door made her wave her hand to move some of the several displays around herself and bid the person to enter. "Good morning, Fate-sempai." The woman greeted her, saluting. "I'm sorry, but the deadline for the progress report was pushed up to today."

"Just my luck." Fate rubbed the bridge of her nose. "Thank you Cary-san."

"And here," The woman places a cup of coffee on her desk. "I noticed you didn't have your normal thermos with you so I made you a cup."

"Thank you," Fate smiled at her.

"Did your better half not make you any this morning?"

"No, she was asleep because I kept her up all night tossing and turning." Fate sighed out. "…I've been a real bitch."

"I'll take my leave here," She saluted again, not wanting to touch that conversation.

Several hours passed by the woman, each one making her more and more frustrated by the amount of work she had to catch up on. '_Hayate-chan needs to get her butt in gear and get us some more office personnel; I won't be able to handle all of this. I'm an enforcer, not a desk junkie…_'

"Lunch time, Fate-sempai," a male by the name of Syaoran poked his head into her office. "Come on, you've been in there non-stop. Stretch your legs out some."

"I'm not very hungry," Fate replied eyes still on the displays as she typed rapidly. "Go ahead; I got the phones while you're out.

"…Right then." Syaoran nodded to himself and walked off, leaving her alone.

Time dragged by slowly again for the woman, only stopping around three to walk to the roof of the building to talk with the mechanics who were working on her car. "We're sorry, ma'am," The man told her again from the video display in the air. "But I was told specifically by the higher ups that there was a budget, and your customized flare on your car surpasses it. All I can do is fix your body work, everything else will have to be ordered and we need a credit card to bill for it."

"Okay, _okay_!" Fate sighed for the hundredth time. "Charge it to my personal account. Anything else?"

"No ma'am." The man gave her an apologetic look. "Sorry Fate-san, you're our best customer but I can only stretch things so far…"

"It's fine…Hayate-chan can't always bend over backwards for me, I'm sure she got yelled at for it or this wouldn't have happened… She's just too nice to say anything." The two looked at each other a moment before nodding and cutting off the video call. The blond instantly brought her hands to her eyes and rubbed. "Someone just _shoot_ me so this damned day will be _over with_!"

Walking back inside the woman made her way back down to her floor via the glass elevator. The doors opened with a small ding and she walked into the large office space slowly. After a few steps she noticed suddenly that everyone was looking at her and smiling. She gave one of her workers an inquisitive glance, but it was returned with a giggle. '_What's going on?_' She wondered to herself lightly, walking a little faster when people started going out of their way to look at her or grin broadly. Upon reaching her office she stopped in her tracks all at once. Though her open door and glass wall she saw a large bouquet of mixed flowers as well as a rather giant stuffed bear. Her hand went to her mouth in shock, standing in the same spot for a few moments before she realized that she could go into her office and look at them instead of standing outside of it and staring. Several of her friends all scuffled over to the doorway to watch the surprised girl look down at her gifts.

The vase held several different kinds of flowers, each one being a different color. Her mind counted them absently, seeing about a dozen in all. After smelling them her eyes turned to the large bear sitting beside the vase. It had a cute happy look on its face and came complete with a card in its lap. Picking it up, she opened the envelope and read the front. "For someone as special as you are," She read aloud for the people watching. "There is only one thing I can say…"

Fate opened the card, being greeted instantly by Nanoha's pre-recorded voice: "Fate-chan, I loooooooooooove you!!!"

The blond quickly closed the card, blushing horribly as everyone suddenly started wolf whistling at her and cheering. "Go back to work!" She stomped her foot, trying to look serious but the hot blush across her face ruined the 'boss look' she was going for. "Go on, go!" She tried again, this time making them giggle to themselves and disperse. She still got teasing glances through her window so after a few moments she shut her door and closed the blinds so no one could see in. Now alone she walked over to her desk and picked up the teddy bear to observe it again. A few moments passed before she cuddled it to her chest and smiled brightly. '_This is the best day I've ever had,_' she thought happily.

* * *

"Tia?" Subaru asked softly after the girl finished rubbing the lotion on her back to help the bruises go away faster.

"What is it?" The orange-ish red haired girl replied softly, fanning the back in front of her to try and make the cream dry on her skin faster.

"Do you… want to talk about it now?" Her voice was clearly a little worried, eyes still facing forward.

Tia let out a small sigh. "I suppose we have to sooner or later, huh?" She moved to sit next to the girl on her bed. "Um…you start."

"You make it sound easy," Subaru smiled despite the sudden seriousness of the conversation. "I've… gone over what I was going to say a million times but now that you're here with me I can't remember any of it."

"Let me just say… I'm sorry, for being so cold to you afterwards."

"You've already apologized for that," Subaru whispered. Silence hung over them for a moment before she spoke again. "I understand you're don't like girls. You don't have to worry; I won't hit on you again."

"Subaru…"

"So," She closed her eyes. "Please don't avoid me if there is a problem, okay?"

"I…" She looked over at her friend. "The truth is…I'm unsure."

"Unsure?" The blue haired girl paused.

"I don't like girls… but for some reason I like you." Tia took a steadying breath. "I can't explain it so please don't ask."

"You mean, 'like' me like me?"

Tia felt her lips turn up in an amused smile. "For lack of a better way of putting it, yes, I like you like you."

"I like you too," Subaru replied a little more easily than her friend. "Well, I think I'm in love with you, but you already knew that didn't you?"

"…Yeah."

"So, um…"

"I'm not ready for this kind of thing," Tia admitted before her friend could continue. "Can we…take it really slow?"

"Yes!" the outbreak made Tia pull back in shock. "Oh, sorry. I didn't mean to shout."

"Idiot," Although it was an insult, the way Tia said it made it sound as an endearment.

"We'll…" Subaru slowly reached over and took her friend's hand, interlacing their fingers. "Keep it to ourselves for right now, until you're ready. Would that make you feel better?"

"I'm sorry," Tia allowed herself to bring Subaru's hand to her mouth and kiss her fingers. "For being so uncertain about something that means so much to you."

"Don't say that," She blushed lightly. "If I can just hold your hand… I can wait until you're ready to take the next step."

"Subaru…" Tia looked over at her a moment, cheeks darkening. "Mind if I hug you?"

"Just don't squeeze too hard," Subaru teased her, letting go of her hand in favor of wrapping her arms around her friend. "So…Are you my girlfriend?"

"…Yes." Tia closed her eyes, amazed at how she felt more relieved than scared after saying those words. "I'm your girlfriend."

"Tia… Thank you." Subaru gave her another gentle squeeze before pulling back and smiling.

* * *

Fate slowly opened the door to her apartment and shut it behind herself as quietly as she could. The clock on the wall displayed that it was already eleven at night, way past their normal bedtime. "Welcome home," Nanoha called to her from the upstairs. She was leaning against the railing of their bedroom with a sleepy grin on her face. "Got my present I see? Hope I didn't distract you too much?"

"Not at all," Fate replied happily, setting the flowers on the living room table and carrying her bear upstairs. "But you shouldn't have waited on me; you're probably sleepy from last night."

"Its okay, we were given tomorrow off so we could rest for a mission. There are supposed to be some lost logia signals in the city. We are going to investigate it in case there is a relic among them."

"I see," Fate slid off her uniform jacket with Nanoha's help. "I'm really sorry about last night; I was way out of line."

"Don't worry, we all have bad days." Nanoha smiled to herself, allowing her arms to reach under her girlfriend's and undo the buttons on the shirt for her. "You're the sweetest, nicest girl I know so I figured you were just really stressed out so I sent you a gift to try and calm you down some so you won't go crazy."

"And it worked wonders." Fate slipped out of her shirt and smiled when her girlfriend unbuttoned her skirt and slid the small zipper down. "I don't deserve you."

"I'm not much," She replied lightly, placing a kiss on the girl's neck. "Just your standard girl."

"Sure, whatever." Fate turned, letting her skirt drop to the ground, and hugged her friend. "You are a beautiful little vixen who has me wrapped around her little finger."

"Am I really beautiful?" She wondered in the hug. Fate nodded against her, making her smile. "Even if I have small breast?"

"I like you small breast," The blond teased her happily. "Why?"

"Just wondering," She replied cutely.

"Let's get some sleep, tomorrow is going to be busy." The words were finished up with a quick scooping up of the brown haired girl. Fate carried her over to the bed and sat her down onto it gently.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" She pondered, looking up at her as she changed for bed.

"I just told you, we're going to get 'busy'." Fate winked at her. "It's been almost six days now and I'm feeling restless." She crawled into bed next to Nanoha and kissed her forehead. "And I _know_ you must be frustrated by now, my little bunny."

"Who says I'm frustrated?" Nanoha stuck out her tongue. "I'm just fine, thank you."

Fate looked at her a moment, wondering who this person was and what she did with Nanoha. After staring at her smiling face for a few moments she gasped out. "You didn't run my batteries out again did you?"

"Busted," Nanoha stuck out her tongue.

"Mou, I _just_ put those in there!"

"I'll buy you some more, I promise!"

"Buy you _own_, jeez!"

"But I _like_ yours!"

"Mou, come here you!" Fate grabbed her friend and tickled her sides, making the girl squeal out happily. The two wrestled around on the bed for a moment before finally stopping to take a break and get some more air into their systems. After a moment Fate looked over at her girlfriend and smiled fondly at her. "Nanoha-chan?"

"Yes, Kitten?"

"I love you. Lots."

Nanoha smiled happily. "Thank you. I love you too. Lots and lots." She curled up against Fate contently after finally cutting off the reading light she had on.

* * *

Author's Notes: Slightly shorter chapter than my last one, but I realized that if I tried to put everything all together then I would have a chapter that's nearly 20,000 words long…. And that would get a little boring after a while. So here is a fluffy chapter for you. Next one will be a little more serious than this one and will also have some more action.

As some of you know, I don't like to use Japanese words in my story when I can avoid it. I do, however, really like honorifics, as they can tell things that just can't be translated into English. An example is Nanoha going from "Caro-san" to "Caro-chan.", showing that they are a little closer to each other. For anyone who doesn't know, "-sempai" is used to address someone respectfully who is an upperclassman. It basically is a way to show respect to people who have been at a place longer than you have, or know more than you do, or are simply more skilled than you. "-sensei" can be used to either refer to an actual teacher, or to a doctor. In Shamal's case, it's obviously referring to her medical status. Also right now, I would like to mention a less used honorific that will be coming up in the next chapter: "-hime".

"Hime" translates to "Princess", and is used when referring to someone who is in position to the throne. Using it as an honorific, such as "Caro-hime" can literally be translated as "Princess Caro". I think that using it as an honorific would be best since I don't use "Mr." and "Mrs." In this story. I'm sorry for any confusion honorifics can cause, but that's just my style of writing.

* * *

Next chapter:

Nanoha: It was my worst fear come to life; feeling my own consciousness being ripped from my very being. I couldn't move my body, but I still could see everything that was happening.

Fate: Nanoha was engulfed in the yellow flames, screaming out my name in terror. I could do nothing to help her, and her eyes lost the depth that made me fall in love with them.

Nanoha: No! I don't want to be like this! I don't want to hurt anyone ever again! End this, Fate!

Fate: I can't do it! I won't hurt you Nanoha!

????: Nanoha is no more, only I remain.

Fate: Next time, on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS, 6th divison: "The lose of a friend and the awakening of Skeith, the corrupt Jewel Seed."


	5. Chapter 5

My side hurt as my lungs expanded, trying to keep sufficient air in them while I skated across the sidewalk in my battle gear. How dare they do this to me? I know I was hurt, but still! My eyes narrowed as the building with the helipad on top came close enough for me to form my wing road. The trip up the several stories forced me to loop my road a few times so the angle of accent wouldn't make me actually slide backwards back down it. When the top came to my view I felt a certain amount of relief wash over me when the people I was after were still standing outside of the helicopter. My appearance shocked everyone but Tia, who just frowned at me. My wheels touched the roof and my blue road vanished, allowing me to gently glide over to my captain and instructor. Saluting them, I spoke up. "Private second class Subaru reporting for duty, ma'am!"

**TSAB: 6****th**** Mobile Division V**

**By: Satashi**

"Subaru, there is a reason you weren't briefed on this mission," Nanoha told her, stepping up to stand in front of the younger girl. "Shamal-sensei has not released you to full duty yet."

"Ma'am, I have recovered faster than expected!" Subaru stayed in her spot, still saluting with her eyes forward. "I am ready to deploy."

Nanoha looked at her a moment before sighing. "If I gave your left side a quick jab, would you flinch?" She watched the blue haired girl swallow thickly and cut her off before she could reply. "Thought not. I'm sorry, Subaru, you will stay here. Sometimes staying behind is important as well. If we get any distress calls while we are out, you and Vita-chan will be here to handle it."

"But…"

"No buts," She replied instantly. "You will stay here until you are properly healed. End of story."

"Nanoha-san!" Subaru gasped out. "You trained me well, I can do this! I won't make a mistake!"

"I know you won't!" The instructor turned on her. "I'm not letting you go because I'm worried about _you_, not if you'll make a mistake!" her gaze softened and a hand was placed on her student's shoulder. "You are a great fighter, Subaru, but I won't forgive myself if you get hurt to the point where you won't recover. I know what that's like, and I won't let anyone go through it."

"…Yes ma'am." Subaru looked down, dejected. "I will stay here then."

"And get back in bed, you're not supposed to be moving around until your ribs heal!" Nanoha thumped her forehead after scolding her.

Fate walked over to her friend and nodded at her. "We need to be off, it will be twilight soon, they will probably move when it gets dark enough to cover their tracks."

"Right." Nanoha gave Subaru one final smile before hopping into the helicopter, followed closely by the Lightning members, her girlfriend, and the small Rein.

Tia walked over to Subaru and stood in front of her a moment before speaking. "I'll take care of everything enough to cover your part too," She told her softly as the blades of the aircraft started to turn. "So get some rest okay?"

"…Okay. Be safe out there all right?"

"Of course," Tia smiled.

"Just to sum things up," Rein spoke to the group when Tia boarded the helicopter and sat down. "We have been getting mixed signals of activated lost logia around the sector seven slums on the outskirts of Midgard, the town a few hours away from here. We suspect increased activities of black market trading but the local police force there can not give us any information since they are not equipped with enough power to launch a full scale assault. From there we will divide into two groups: Elio, Caro, Tia, you three will be group "Sky." Nanoha and Fate will make up group "Leader." I will give us tactical advice as we go along."

"Roger!" The three forwards all saluted.

"Our primary goal," Rein picked back up. "Is to find out why this area has had so many lost logia ran through it and who is behind it."

"Um," Elio looked up, getting Rein's attention. "Is it that uncommon? To my knowledge there are several types of logia, why are these so important so suddenly?"

"A good question," Nanoha finally joined in. "As you said there are many different classifications of lost logia ranging from the harmless to the severely dangerous. The name simply suggest that the item is from an advanced civilization and that at our current scientific knowledge we cannot figure it out or replicate it. The item itself can be anything from entertainment to weaponry. Although we will investigate everything that is related to illegal possession of logia, our primary focus is on 'Relics'. The code name is for items that are crystalline in nature, but can take on the shape of almost anything."

"Such as Jewel Seeds?" Tia pondered.

"Yes," Nanoha smiled lightly. "They are most definitely powerful things. We may be dealing with something like that tonight so be sure to use this time to collect your thoughts and ask any questions okay?"

"Ma'am!"

* * *

"She wasn't lying when she said 'sums' was she?" Elio asked aloud as they looked out the window of the helicopter. The area below them was dark and run down, spanning several miles all around. "Brings back bad memories…"

Fate put a hand on the young male's head and gave it a small ruffle of encouragement. "You'll be fine out there; you have a home to come back to."

"Right."

Caro looked over at the other lightning member a little sadly. '_That's right, Elio's parents were killed in a battle…He probably lived alone until Fate-san found him…_' Looking out the window she frowned at the sight of what appeared to be gang members jumping rooftops to get away from police sirens and flashing lights. '_It must be hard living in a place like that…We've both been through some hard times already, huh?_' Her small hand reached out and took his, trying to give encouragement to him as much as taking it as well.

"Nervous?" He whispered at her softly.

"Yes," She replied honestly, just as quiet. "I don't think I'll ever be confident enough not to be."

"I'll protect you."

"That's my line," She turned to look at him finally, giving the male a smile. "So instead, be my sword?"

Fate's voice broke off any more conversation that could be had between the two. "Okay its time to deploy. Tia, you will be in charge of Sky and I will guide Leader. Any questions you may have can be sent to me if we're in range. This part of town may be a slum, but it still has M2D capabilities."

"Yes ma'am." Tia nodded at her as the hatch opened.

Nanoha gave her students an encouraging nod before they each leapt out, Caro deciding to grip Elio around the waist from behind since she was scared of heights. "They'll be okay…" She spoke more to herself than Fate. "They'll be fine."

"They know what they're getting into," Fate told her as the team's transparent gliders kicked on, allowing them to sail down quickly to a rooftop without too many people noticing them. "We need to be prepared as well."

"High rank mages, huh?" Nanoha mused, allowing her barrier jacket to form. "We've been given triple A negative access… Why does that make me nervous?"

"I kind of wish we allowed Yuuno to come," Fate walked to the open hatch and called forth her armor as well.

"His magic is top notch but his body isn't in the condition to maneuver like he used to be able to. I'd be too worried to fight at full potential."

Fate nodded at her knowingly before waving at Vice. "See you in a few hours, Vice-kun."

"Safe flight girls!" He called back as they jumped out and flew down to the city below them.

"First things first," Nanoha told her friend as they flew downwards quickly. "We need to find the place where the logia keep disappearing. From there we can probably perch and wait."

"All right," Fate nodded to herself. "The location is just south of here, let's get to it."

* * *

"Okay, from here on out be on guard." Tia pulled her guns from her side holsters and double checked them to ensure they were loaded. "We are officially in enemy territory so I want Caro to watch our right. Elio, watch our left and I will keep everything ahead of us."

"Ma'am." Both of them replied in kind, Elio summoning Strada to his hands. "I have a really bad feeling about this," He voiced his worries, eyes darting around. "I can already feel eyes on us."

"Ah, just keep walking." Tia led them forward, occasionally looking down at her wrist where a transparent map was displayed. "Our target location is just ahead. If the information we received is correct, the person who is supposedly smuggling the loggias should be in a warehouse."

"Tia-san, we have six people following us." Caro whispered, eyes moving around the dark alleyways they were traveling. The only light around them came from random neon flashing signs and streetlamps that flickered with age. "I'm sorry, seven now."

"Thanks for the good news," Tia frowned. "Can we avoid them?"

"From their current speed it seems like they want to follow us until they're ready to battle."

"Smart move," Elio muttered, gripping his spear tighter. "Tia-san, should we force combat?"

"It's better than allowing them to move us where they want and possibly have re-enforcements…" The three stopped walking and stood their ground. "I don't like being followed!" She called out loudly. Several moments passed by them in silence before figures started dropping around them one by one. "Nice welcoming," She greeted them bitterly, eyes moving around to confirm that they were surrounded and outnumbered. "Do you always greet people so promptly?"

"Smart mouth for a little girl," One of them stepped forward and into the light from a streetlamp. "What are police doing in a place like this? I thought we were clear on the 'no fly' zone?"

"We're military," Tia aimed one of her guns at him. "Put your hands up and surrender peacefully and you will have the right to a fair trial."

"On what grounds?"

"For possession of an illegal object classified as a lost logia and attempted smuggling of said artifact," Tia recited the line firmly, placing her bets on her instincts that these people were the ones she was after. To her disbelief the people around her started to chuckle amongst themselves, each pulling a weapon from the shadows. "Tch," Tia pulled up her other gun and looked over her shoulder, seeing Caro and Elio go back to back behind her.

"What I desire," Caro whispered softly into the darkness, getting a few eyes on her. "Is a means to bind my opponents…"

"The brat's doing the same thing as 'she' does!" One of them gasped out. "Stop her!"

Tia's guns fired the moment the first man made a move, signally the official start of their battle. People leapt around them quickly, none staying in place long enough for the female to properly aim. Two shadows leapt into the air, bringing her attention to them and allowing another two to sweep in from the sides. Metal staves were raised up to strike, only to be cleaved into pieces by the end of Elio's spear. "No one touches my friends." His eyes narrowed.

* * *

"Battle mode engaged," Rein spoke to her partners as they looked over a rooftop at the ground below them. "Sky has encountered their enemy and are fighting."

Fate gripped the staff of Bardiche tighter. "Rein, are you sure their opponents aren't too strong? They're a member short…"

"Yes, from the data sent by their devices they are fighting rank C mages and one B."

"They can handle that," Nanoha spoke confidently. "Our training simulations are harsher than that."

"But these are real people," Fate replied, ducking down when she thought someone would look where they were from the ground. "Will they be able to…?"

"I don't know if I want them to or not," Nanoha closed her eyes. "But this is the military, they knew what they were getting in when they joined. I just wish their hands didn't have to be stained so young."

"You girls turned out fine," Rein supported the two. "So trust in them as well. For right now, we need to focus on what's going on now."

"Right."

Nanoha looked up over the edge of the oddly shaped roof she was on. "…That's odd."

"What is it?"

"They're…they're gone!" Nanoha stood up and looked down at a better angle. "No wait, they're on the ground…Come on, Fate-chan." The girl leapt off the roof quickly, landing in a silent crouch. She felt her partner land behind herself and after a quick visual scan of the area, ran over to one of the people laying on the ground. "…He's out cold."

"Here too," Fate spoke up, looking around. "But I don't see any signs of a skirmish."

"Inside," Rein flew to the door leading into a building and looked into it. "People here are unconscious as well."

Nanoha quickly ran into the building, eyes darting around the tavern. "Ugh, it smells." She wrinkled her nose as she stepped over bodies. Raising Heart hummed in her hand, telling the woman that there were people nearby. "_Fate-chan_," She started talking telepathically. "_I'll go downstairs, you take the upstairs."_

"_Okay,_" Fate instantly trotted over to the stairs on the side of the room and looked up them before quietly sneaking upwards.

"_Rein-chan, let's go down._" Nanoha quietly continued along her path until she came to a doorway. Pressing her back up against it, she nodded to Rein. The small being flew to the top of the entrance and slipped through it quickly. The instructor held her breath as she listened to the silence. Her little partner gave her the all clear, allowing her to quietly slip into the other room and trot over to the staircase leading downwards. Another body was stepped over quickly as she made her way over to another hidden door that lead her back outside. "_Fate-chan, come down. There's a stairway leading into a cellar and a door to the far right. It leads outside._"

The dark night engulfed her once again as she walked cautiously down the back alley littered with garbage and other miscellaneous broken objects. Ahead of her a streetlamp flickered on in a vain attempt to illuminate the area, but failing to do so properly. The brief spurt of light gave Nanoha just enough time to make out three figures ahead of her. One of them fell to the ground and the other continued along their way. '_Bingo,_' Nanoha ran forward quietly, using her training to keep herself just slightly above the ground so her boots wouldn't click on the cracked concrete beneath her. The pair was moving quickly, sometimes only giving the girl a brief glimpse of their cloaks as they turned down another street. Rounding the corner, Nanoha left a small magical smear along the wall that Bardiche could follow.

It took the group almost five minutes to realize they were being followed and all at once stopped their pace and waited for her patiently. "_Fate-san's in battle mode,_" Rein told the girl mentally after getting an inquisitive look. "_She said some of the people were waking up_."

'_Guess I'm on my own then,_' Nanoha pulled herself away from her hiding spot and walked over to the pair. "Good evening," She greeted them. "Funny place to take a walk isn't it?"

"It's hard to avoid such a place when you have business that takes you here, isn't it?" The taller figure replied in kind, eyeing her.

"Touché," Nanoha stopped several paces from them and gripped her staff. "Would you mind if I had a moment of your time, you resemble some people I am after; just a few questions and you will be free to go."

"Not interested," The taller one spoke again, glaring. "I don't guess you will just leave us in peace?"

"Sorry," She apologized, smiling lightly.

"Then I will have to-" He took a step forward.

"-wait." The smaller person held out its hand. "I can feel it coming from her. She has something we could use."

"Oh?" The hood was brought back, revealing the rugged face of a middle aged man. "What is it, Lutecia?"

The smaller person removed her hood, revealing a young looking girl with flowing purple hair. "I feel it residing within her… The signal of a repressed lost logia… a Jewel Seed." She watched the woman in front of her drop into a battle stance. "The doctor would want to investigate it." Her voice was soft and sweet, a dark contrast to the area around her. "Zest, could you go ahead?"

"Okay. What are you going to do?"

Lutecia looked back over at Nanoha. "Same thing that the doctor asked us to… I am going to force activate it."

* * *

Tia frowned, shooting several blast at the people approaching her. Two of her bullets met their targets forcing them to collapse in pain. At least ten people around her were on the ground withering and moaning but more were coming steadily. "It seems like when we knock one down two more come!" Turning she fired rapidly, making several members of the gang scatter. "Che, more mages." Her bullets took on a different color as they got more powerful. '_I only have two more reloads before I'm out…We have to end this soon.'_ Her hair ruffled just before she felt her body become lighter. All at once her reaction time doubled and night vision kicked up several notches. "Thank you, Caro!"

The support mage nodded, already going into another spell. "What I ask for," She began as her summoned chains from earlier finally broke and allowed more of their targets to charge them all at once. "Metal and wind, flowing away from us…" Her circle flashed to life, illuminating the area around them brightly. "Flash wall!" To her call came a thin metal wall, circling them before expanding outwards and moving with the sudden blast of wind. The simple attack forced everyone near them to fly backwards and crushed a few people against the alley walls, making them drop in pain from various broken bones.

"Cute trick," A voice spoke up, followed by a loud crashing sound as the wall was torn through. A man stood in front of them with orange spiky hair and tattoos covering most of his bare upper body. "But I'm afraid this will be the end of things."

"Boss!" Several members seemed to regain their confidence at the sight of the man.

"Military mages, huh?" He mused, stepping forward summoning forth a standard magical staff. "Maybe I'll be able to get more weapons tonight than I had originally planned, and without even trading the little brat the gem I found."

"Trading logia for weapons," Tia whispered, eyes narrowing. "What a fool."

"Fool am I?" The man smirked. The next moment Tia found herself against the wall, scratching desperately at the hand gripping her neck. Two punches landed on her stomach before she was tossed to the side, rolling on the ground twice before flipping up and back to her feet. "Oh? You aren't an ordinary teenager are you?"

" 'Fraid not," Tia stood up, trying to recover from the lack of air she now had. "I put you at an A- rank, something I can handle by myself."

"I see. Then I guess I will have to tip the scales in my favor." The man waved his hand, making several people around them watching instantly leap back into the shadows. To replace them four more people stepped into the light, each holding a staff device. "You see, my friends here could be classified as a "B+" as you would call it. A large difference from the "C and D" ranks you so thoughtlessly gave the rest of my gang."

Caro stood next to Elio but refused to show her worry. '_If that is true then each one would be an even match for us, but we're outnumbered still…Granted we have intelligent devices and official training but… Somehow I don't think they will hesitate to hurt us._' Her hand took on a pinkish glow, preparing to boost their abilities even more.

"Take out the little girl first!" The leader of the group pointed, instantly starting the scramble. He himself leapt into the air and jumped up the random pipes coming from the walls to make it to the rooftops. Tia scoffed and leapt into the air as well, giving chase to her main target.

'_I have to keep him separate or we won't be able to win,_' The girl grabbed a hold of a broken out section of the wall and pushed off of it after getting her bearings. She continued to scale the walls just as the man had. '_two on four with same ranks will be a lot easier than three on five with someone who outclasses us._' She landed on the roof and scanned the area.

Back on the ground Elio spun his spear around quickly, forcing the people to leap backwards to avoid the pulsating blade at the end. Thanks to his increased agility he managed to dash forward and engage in battle with one of the less reactive men. Their weapons clashed rapidly for a moment before Elio's speed overmatched his opponents and managed to land in a sweeping blow, drawing blood from his opponent's arm. The nameless man stumbled backwards and gripped his arm, but a scream from behind made Elio turn around quickly to see his partner being triple teamed. Before he could run to her he felt himself being thrown through the air after an attack from behind.

"Elio-kun!" Caro shouted out, twirling between the attacks on her and managing to bind two of the men together with summoned chains. The last man tried to grab her but she nimbly danced around him and made it to her partner. "You okay?"

"Yeah," Elio spat on the ground. "Just bit my lip." He held up his spear and eyed the four men as they regrouped as well. "Any suggestions?"

"I can slow them down, but it will take fifteen seconds."

"Start chanting." Elio ran forward, slashing his spear along the ground and sending a ripple of energy along the concrete. The blast made all four veer to his left where he engaged. He ducked the first blast of energy and slid along the ground, sweeping the feet out from under one man. Not pausing, he used his staff to trip another before flipping to his feet and grabbing a staff swung at him. The force made his hand scream in pain but he still managed to use it to hop in the air and lash out his foot and clock the man in the head. The fourth one, however, had plenty of time to aim his blast, sending Elio flying through the air once again and crashing into the wall, making cracks spread out from his impact. The male landed roughly but still darted forward again, slashing his spear rapidly. His eyes narrowed, seeing their movements begin to slow thanks to Caro's magic. The tip of Strada was adjusted slightly, stabbing one man in the shoulder.

All at once their speeds increased again at the same moment that Caro cried out in pain. The spear user leapt backwards to gain some distance before hurrying over to his partner, who was defending herself against one of the faster opponents. Elio was once again attacked from behind, forcing his attention back on the two people who re-engaged with him. Caro's small yelp caught his attention, giving the people he was fighting enough time to stab his dominant arm clean through with a magic bullet. His scream lasted all of two seconds before a staff was jabbed into his stomach and head kicked to the side, flooring him.

Caro gasped out, her spell being interrupted once again as she was tossed around from different attacks. '_I can't focus on so many at once,_' She cried, sliding across the wet hard ground. '_I can't… I can't…_'

Elio screamed loudly, dashing forward once more. His attack caught the group off guard, allowing him to cut into the leg of one man. Almost immediately all four danced around him, each kicking or hitting him with magical attacks. The male lasted seven seconds before weakly collapsing to the ground once more.

"He's too green," The injured man muttered, holding his leg. "That's three times he could have killed one of us but didn't."

'_Elio-kun…Elio-kun!!!_' Caro closed her eyes tightly, screaming at her body to move. '_I have to support him… I have to!_' The sounds of her partner screaming came to her ears once again but she couldn't seem to make her magic come to her hands. '_Please! I have to move! I have to help him! Elio-kun!_'

Caro opened her eyes, finding herself on a grassy field in a clearing of a forest. Sitting up, she looked down at her body, seeing a few blood smears but feeling no pain. "What… What's going on? Where am I?" Her eyes scanned the area, seeing a small pond and flowers scattering the clearing before going into a pretty forest. A rabbit hopped up next to her and sniffed at the girl before running away when she moved.

"You are awake," A voice made Caro turn to the side and freeze in fear at the sight of a large silver dragon. "Tell me, little one, why are you here?"

"I…I…" Caro stood up, looking up at the dragon with wide eyes. He stood two stories tall with a wingspan that doubled his length with width. One horn was on his nose, complete with a golden ring through it. The dragon walked over to her and moved it's long neck down so it was more of an eye level with her. Caro saw that its body was large and had an equally long tail with several spikes on it.

"You are here on your own will this time," It spoke to her, mouth not moving but still getting it's voice across. "This is the third time we have met now, but you wouldn't remember the first two."

"I've been here…before?"

"Yes, but now is not the time to discuss that. You are here on your own accord this time; tell me, what is it you desire?"

"Elio-kun!" She suddenly remembered. "I have to help Elio-kun!"

"You wish the power to protect?"

"Yes!" She looked up at the dragon with a new determination in her eyes. "I want to protect everyone! I want to help those in need, just as Fate-san helped me! I want… I want to become strong! Strong enough so none of my precious friends get hurt anymore!"

The dragon looked at her steadily. "Then you with an innocent heart and burning soul, tell me… What is your name?"

"Caro. Caro Lu Rushie!"

"Then, Princess Caro, I grant you my power. Call upon me, and I shall help you." The area around them faded slowly, the dragon moving into the mist that enveloped them.

Caro opened her eyes quickly, seeing the hard wet ground she was laying on. Looking up, she saw Elio pushing himself upwards yet again. "I may not be as smart as Tia-san…" He began, weakly stepping forward with blood running down his right arm. "And I may not be as strong as Subaru-san…" He took another step, gripping Strada with his left hand. "I may not have as much magical energy as Caro…" He looked upwards, glaring at them with fire in his eyes. "But I'm the only male of the group," The boy ran forward, spear posed to strike yet again. "So I will protect them!!!"

"Protect!" Caro screamed, hand extended towards him. "Freidliche!" The pink glow shot around the alley, followed closely by the deep roar of a beast. White mist flooded the area, covering the appearance of the white dragon. "What I ask for," Caro started, eyes still locked on Elio. "Armor to protect my friends, so they will not be hurt, a barrier to block harmful spells, and the confidence to do what needs to be done!"

"Your wish will be granted." Freidliche spoke to her, emitting a silver glow around the area.

Tia pushed herself up slowly, seeing a silver mist hang around her body. '_This is…Caro's magic…but how can it reach up here?_' Her eyes turned to the man in front of her, gasping out when his summoned staff took an energy blade onto it. The blow landed soundly, but only glanced off her body. '_I see…Protection magic!'_ Bringing up her guns, she aimed them at the man's chest. "Cross mirage! Stun magic, full power!" Pulling the trigger she injected two yellow orbs into the man's body, shocking him to the point of unconsciousness. Panting, the girl stood up and looked down at her body, seeing a faint trace of silver mist clinging to her, forming the barrier. "Caro…"

"Kill him!" The order came out in the thinning mist. Elio narrowed his eyes, quickly slashing his spear out and flooring the first man. His second attack was a simple slash, but the end of his spear shot out a large blast of pink energy, hitting the second man and sending him flying backwards and through a wall. Finally his third attack was an upward motion, sending another man soaring into the air, even though he was several yards away from the boy. "What…what is this!?" The only man left gasped out as the mist finally began to dissipate to the point where he could see.

Elio held onto his spear soundly, eyes glaring over at him while glowing a deep red. The sound of metal clicking against metal came when he started calmly walking forward. Silver armor graced his body, much like a knight from the medieval times. The joints of his knees and elbows were accented by a point, graced with a golden loop in the tip. The lack of proper lighting did nothing from keeping the polished armor from shining, giving accent to the helmet which displayed proudly the type of knight he was. The helm had dragon fins on the side, as well as one small horn above the forehead cover, also bearing the small golden loop in it. His face wasn't covered, but his cheeks were blessed with a small silver signals that appeared to be quarter moons with a line bisecting them horizontally the mark of a dragoon knight.

"_I have granted you the power you seek,_" Elio heard the voice inside his head as he calmly moved forward towards his last opponent. "_In return, you will serve and protect my master, Princess Caro Lu Rushie."_

"_Understood,_" He answered mentally before the presence of the dragon faded from him. "You," He pointed with his staff. "Surrender."

"Never!" The man darted forward quickly. "I will kill the one giving you power!"

"You will not harm her!" Elio blurred to the side. "Sonic Move!" His spear impaled the man from behind before he could get close to Caro. With a slash, he sent the man flying from the end of his spear and crashing into the wall leaving a blood smear as he slid down it.

"Is everything okay?" Tia asked as she dropped from the roof. "How are- what the hell is that!?" She pointed up at the Dragon behind Caro when the streetlights decided to flash again.

The dragon looked down at the three people before glowing and shrinking down in size, finally reaching the point of a large dog. The dragon stood on all four legs, allowing its tail to sway out behind himself casually. "Freidliche," Caro stated, pushing herself up slowly with Elio's help. "Thank you…" She reached out and hugged the dragon, getting a small purr.

"Elio…? Is that you?" Tia knelt down as well, looking at the armor clad boy. "What…?" She looked at her own body, still seeing the silver mist. "Is this the dragon's power or Caro's?"

"Both," The young girl replied, still hugging her new friend. "I'm tired… Can I rest?"

"Yes," Tia answered softly. "Good job you two."

Caro nodded lightly before finally falling over onto the ground. All at once the glow around Tia vanished and Elio's armor shattered into a mist that floated away. "Caro-hime!" Elio shouted out, reaching over and making sure the girl was all right.

Tia looked at the dragon, who was giving an approving look to the male. "I'm so confused…"

* * *

Nanoha glared at the young girl in front of her. '_She can't be any older than Caro-chan_' She thought to herself as she circled around her opponent. "You are the one who has been activating the lost logia around here, why?"

"The doctor wants me to test their power, and bring back the strong ones to him." She replied easily.

"Doctor?"

"I answered one of your questions, it's rude to ask another," She told Nanoha, voice still calm and sweet.

"I'm sorry," The flying Ace apologized, shocking herself to realize that she actually kind of meant it since the girl didn't have any malice in her voice at all. "I am here to stop you, will you surrender peacefully?"

"I can not," Lutecia looked at her, a magical circle spreading beneath her feet. Instantly Nanoha formed several balls of energy around herself and fired more than half of them all at once. The magic streaked towards the young girl but stopped mere inches from her body. "What I ask for," Her spell began. "Is the release of power within…"

Nanoha's throat went dry, hearing the familiar thundering of her heartbeat in her ears. "What…?" Again the sound repeated in her ears, making her hands shake. "Not this… not this again!"

"Nanoha-san!" Rein flew over to the girl as she clutched her chest.

"Rein…run! Get Fate!" Nanoha looked up at her scared. The Iris in her eyes were already being flecked with yellow, covering the slate blue orbs. "HURRY!" The cry made the small girl nod and fly off in the direction they had come. "What…are you doing?" She managed out, glaring at the purple haired girl.

"Disregard your limits and come back into the world," Lutecia kept on, eyes closed.

Gasping out, Nanoha had to take a few steps backwards to prevent herself from collapsing. '_I don't have a sealing round,_' She thought frantically, trying to repress the feelings inside her body. '_My only chance is to hope Fate gets here soon with hers…_' Her legs gave out all at once, making her fall to her knees. Panting, she looked down at her body in fear. A yellow and black ooze like substance was already consuming her, reforming her barrier jacket to something that it desired instead. "Fate-chan… Fate-chan… Fate… Fate… Fate.Fate. Fate!Fate!Fate-Fate-FateFateFateFaaaaate!"

Nanoha felt her insides shatter, pain flaring all around her as the jewel seed's last seal broke. Everything went silent as her eyes went blind. The girl looked around, realizing she could see herself but nothing else around her. The sound of a tuning fork echoed around the girl, making her look behind herself and finally seeing someone else. The female in front of her wore a tight outfit of yellow and black leather. Black boots with yellow highlights, complete with two spikes on the heel jutting out behind them. Her legs held the same black leather armor with criss-crossing strips of yellow running up them. The chest piece was pitch black with only a yellow slash running from her left shoulder down across her chest and to the right side of her waist. The shoulders were covered with three yellow spikes coming out from them. Along her arms the black leather clung to the skin tightly, accented by several yellow curved spikes. Gloves were on her hands, each finger section being separated by smaller yellow curved blades, as well as sharp pointed nails. Finally Nanoha looked at the face, shocked to find her own looking back at her. Ever so slowly the ooze slid up her neck and covered her mouth and nose with a type of ninja mask, going back and also covering her ears. The hair was let down from the ponytails and the white ribbons vanished slowly, allowing the brown strands to fly out behind her. Yellow eyes glared at her before her own voice spoke to her. "I'm free." With those two words, Nanoha's eyes rolled up in her head, finally losing consciousness.

The woman stood slowly, looking around to take in her surroundings. The circle on the ground vanished, drawing her attention to the purple haired girl a few paces from her. "Who are you?" She asked after a moment.

"Lutecia," She replied simply. "I set you free. What is your name?"

The woman looked down at her hands, flexing her fingers. "Hehehehe…. Ah hahahahaha…. Hahahahahahaha!" She threw back her head and bent backwards, laughing loudly. "I'm free, I'm free, I'm free, I'm FREE!"

"Nanoha!?"

The word made the woman look to the side, smiling under her mask. "She's dead, only I remain."

Fate felt herself suddenly start to feel sick to her stomach. "The seal…"

"Is broken," She replied angrily, throwing out one hand and revealing something like bat wings on her back. Gripping her fist, she laughed again. "Now…finally! I can get my revenge!"

"I need you to come with me," Lutecia spoke again.

"I will follow no one," She spoke, glaring.

"Bardiche!" Fate flipped her staff, knocking the shells in the revolver onto the ground and slamming a single bullet into it. "Sealing mode!"

"I think not!" The black and yellow woman blurred, clearing the distance between them so fast her punch left a small shockwave around them that scattered the dirt on the ground. Fate's auto shield shattered instantly, making the woman bounce and skid several times before crashing into a wall. "I have something I need to do, so I refuse to be locked away again!"

"Nanoha…" Fate pushed herself up slowly, coughing a little blood from the blow.

"The name is Skeith," She corrected her, quickly moving in front of the blond and hefting her into the air from her neck. "Listen, Fate, if you so much as attempt to try and seal me again I will not only kill you, but I will kill Elio, I will kill Caro, I will kill Hayate, and everyone else will die as well. Am I clear?" Three punches landed onto the blonde's stomach before another clipped across her head, knocking her out.

"Skeith-san, I request that you come with me," Lutecia said again, walking over to her.

"I refuse. I need to find someone first." Skeith flared out her wings, rising into the air. "Do not think I am indebted to you, Lutecia."

The girl looked a little saddened by the turn of events. "I see. Well, I shall be on my way then. We will cross paths later." With that she turned and continued along her intended path, leaving the unconscious blond and the small Rein by themselves.

* * *

"Nanoha….Nanoha…" Fate turned over, wincing in pain.

"Easy there," A male voice told her, gently moving her so she was on her back again. "Hang in there Fate."

"…Vice," Her eyes opened slowly, seeing the pilot above her. "...Where…"

"You're on the helicopter," he told her as Rein flew above the girl. "We are waiting on Sky to get here before we take off."

"…Nanoha?"

"…We don't know where she is," Rein told her sadly. "Hayate is scanning for her right now.

Fate's eyes brimmed with tears. "I couldn't save her…"

"Just rest," Vice commanded, looking out the hatch to see some people coming up to him. "You're lucky you don't have a concussion. Rein said the person who hit you ranked at least double S+."

"That was her…" Fate whispered sadly. "That was her…Oh god, I couldn't help her… I couldn't…I…" Her words broke off as she dissolved into sobs. "Nanohaaaa….."

Rein looked over at the hatch, gasping out at the silver dragon who boarded the helicopter with the others. Elio looked like he had been through hell but still managed to carry Caro piggyback style. Tia looked a little worse for wear but otherwise seemed to be all right. "Long story," Tia told her, nodding at the dragon. "But we recovered a handful of logia from the group of people who were going to trade them. We don't know who they were trading _with_ but the leader is being arrested and- what the hell happened to Fate-san!?"

"Long story," Rein sighed. "Vice-kun, get us back to base, I have a feeling our debriefing session is going to be long and complicated…"

* * *

"I see," Hayate looked at the dragon sitting next to Caro's hospital bed. "And she just passed out after her summon?"

"Yes ma'am." Elio nodded. "She seemed exhausted."

"I knew her abilities would awaken soon but I didn't think it would be this early…" She looked down at the dragon. "And he is her summon?"

"Freidliche," Elio confirmed. "He was the one who gave me my armor… Although I can't summon it back on my own."

"Her linker core is dangerously low," Shamal informed them as she looked over her charts. "I was given the information from the scientist where Caro was at before, and they match almost precisely. Given the history, she should be weak for a few days but she will be fine shortly."

"Will the dragon not sap all her energy?" Subaru pondered, looking over them and down at the dragon sleeping at the foot of the bed.

"Freidliche is a summon, not a familiar," Shamal mused, looking at the small dragon. "I'm assuming he won't leave her, otherwise he wouldn't have adapted to a smaller size…Elio-kun, later I would like to run some scenarios with you and Caro to try and figure out why you are so much more prone to advanced support magic if that's okay?"

"I'd really rather not be studied…" He gave Shamal an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I'm not comfortable with being a test subject."

"…I see; I'm sorry I offended you." Shamal smiled at him.

"Hey, where is Nanoha-san?" Subaru pondered, looking around. "I would have figured she'd be next to Fate-san by now?"

"Yes, what's going on?" Tia asked as well. "Rein-san said she would tell us when we got here, but all we've done was go over Caro?"

Hayate looked down. "Well, there's something you should know about Nanoha-chan…" The girls looked on in shock as Hayate retold the tale about the jewel seed so many years ago. "So the worst case scenario has happened…She has been taken over."

"I… I see…" Subaru looked over at Fate as she slept peacefully. "And Fate-san…"

"Saw it all happen," Hayate finished for her. "Shamal sedated her after she got over her shock and tried to go look for her on her own. We are scanning the surrounding area as well as expanding the field slowly. We will find her. Until then, I want all of you to rest and be prepared to battle again in a few days time. Training will be put on hold so use your time wisely and learn from the encounters you had tonight so you won't make the same mistakes again."

"Ma'am." They all saluted.

* * *

Elio wandered through the streets slowly, eyes glazed over as he reflected back on the battle he had the day before. _He's too green_; the words came back again and again, each time making him feel worse about himself. '_I ended up killing one anyway,_' He thought sadly as he walked aimlessly. '_If I hadn't hesitated in the first place, Caro-hime wouldn't be in bed right now…_' He shook his head quickly. '_No, I can't think like that…Fate-san doesn't want me to be a cold blooded killer…But I still took a life… I killed someone…_' His feet kept walking, ignoring the people looking at him. Although he was in civilian clothing he still felt like he stood out from the rest of the people around him. '_If I didn't, though, Caro-hime would have been hurt._' His lips twitched lightly at the name. '_I guess I belong to her now since I made a deal with her dragon for the ability to help her._'

The boy looked up, seeing that the sun was already starting to set. '_I don't feel like going back right now…_' His eyes looked around, realizing that he knew where he was for the first time. Walking a little more he found a familiar place and walked into it. He scanned the area a moment, only seeing a few people inside the building. One person caught his attention so he walked over across the empty dance floor and sat at the bar, next to Vita.

"Little boys shouldn't come into bars un-supervised," She greeted him without even looking. The pig tailed girl threw her head back and gulped a liquid Elio couldn't place before slamming the shot glass onto the counter, upside down.

"I'm not really in a good mood," he told her as Kuhn walked over to them. "I need a beer."

Vita looked over at him sideways. "Eh? What's that?" One arm reached out and grabbed the front of his shirt, making him look at her. "We don't come here to get drunk, brat." Her eyes were slightly hazy, showing that despite her words, she was tipsy.

"Then why do you come here?" He asked softly, getting let go of and fixing his shirt.

"Understanding." Vita looked up at Kuhn and was given another shot of a dark fluid. "Kuhn has seen many things in his lifetime… his drinks are a symbol for military." She gulped it down as well, slamming the glass back onto the bar. "Don't come in here and disgrace us with your problems by crying into something alcoholic."

"I killed someone for the first time," Elio told her.

"Congratulations."

"It's not something I want to be congratulated for," He retorted, getting a smile.

"Good, I was going to hit you if you said 'thanks' after all." The girl looked at the many different bottles behind the bar. "Elio, you are young. You will do many things you don't want to, but you need to realize that even if you do kill someone, you do it so many more will live. We're military… it's what we do. As long as you keep it in your heart, a reason for your actions, then you will never become like them. It's only when you kill for the sake of killing that you've become a pawn. We are not pawns, Elio. We are proud warriors, and as such, we must stand tall and walk forward."

Elio looked down at the bar top for a while before a drink was slid in front of him. "What's this?"

"A neon sissy-fied slushie." Kuhn answered. "Strawberry daiquiri. The color is one that you will get used to seeing, so don't let little things like that bother you. Keep your wits about you little boy, and don't let reference haunt your dreams and cloud your mind."

"Understanding…huh?" Elio took a long drink, amazed at the combination of sweetness to bitterness it held. "… I think I understand… Why are you here, sub-lieutenant Vita?"

The girl smiled to herself, looking down. "I'm trying to drink away my worry."

"…Nanoha-san?"

"Yes." Vita looked at Kuhn, who shook his head to signal that he wasn't going to serve her any more hard stuff. "If you tell anyone, I'm going to beat your brains in with my hammer." She pointed to his drink and looked at Kuhn, who thought a moment before going to make her one as well.

"Yes ma'am." Elio took another drink and tasted it slowly. "We are going to look for her soon, aren't we?"

"Yes. Hayate has already planned it out. She may look calm on the outside but don't let it fool you, she's scrambling every moment she can to do everything in the world to find Nanoha. As soon as we get a lock on her, I won't be surprised if half the base is deployed to bring her back."

"I see…" The boy closed his eyes in thought. "Well then, I guess I should get some good sleep tonight… I want to go looking on my own."

"Hard to do when you can't even fly."

"I think I'll manage." Elio grinned, feeling for the first time as if he became a little more mature that night.

"Here you go, kiddo." Kuhn spoke up, placing the drink in front of Vita. The girl blushed lightly, realizing that it had whip cream on the top, as well as a few cut strawberries on the brim of the glass. He had gone out of his way to make the drink cute and girly for her. "On the house."

Vita took it and sipped through the swirly straw after licking some of the cream off of it. "If you tell anyone about this, I'm going to tell them you gave a ten year old alcohol."

"Sure, sure."

* * *

Fate woke up quickly, sweating from the nightmare she had just had. Sitting up, she looked around her living room to calm herself down. As soon as her breath steadied it self she waved out her hand and called forth a monitor display. "Bardiche," she spoke, voice still tired. "Show me the results in the scanning, please."

"Yes sir," Several more screens appeared in front of the girl. "There have been two sightings of Skeith in the northern district of the capital city."

"I told you to wake me if you found anything!" Fate screamed, getting up off her couch and calling forth her barrier jacket.

"Your body was too weak to move even if you knew, sir." Bardiche told her as she flew out one of her windows and into the morning air. "Sir, please rest."

"No! I have to find her!"

"Fate-chan!" Hayate's voice came paired with a screen flying alongside her. "Return to the base this instant! I'm just as worried as you are but killing yourself by searching will only slow you down in the long run!"

"I'm going to find her!" Fate screamed. "It's been a week, I can't wait any longer!"

"You never waited in the first place!" Hayate told her angrily. "Don't think I wouldn't be out there as well if I thought it would be the best course of action to-"

"I'm sorry," Fate's words made Hayate stop her scolding. "Hayate, please, permission for flight?"

"….Okay." She sighed softly. "Fate…I'll give you constant permission for personal flight if you promise me you will rest properly okay? You can stay at my apartment if you need to."

"Thank you," Fate nodded at her. "I will come back for lunch…okay?"

"See you then, Fate-chan…"

Now alone, Fate pushed herself harder, flying quickly over the city. '_Nanoha has been taking out people with lost logia non-stop… if I activate one maybe she will come to me._' Her eyes turned over to Bardiche. "Pull out." The word worked and Fate picked up the small jewel seed they had found inside one of the destroyed gadget drones. '_These are weak but it's all I have…_'

Hours passed by slowly as the girl flew around town, searching everything with her eyes and heart. Several places were looped around, and countless people were asked if they saw the girl. After her hopes were dashed yet again by a false sighting she let out a small sigh and looked up into the air. '_Nanoha…where are you…_?' The girl readied herself to once again leap into the sky but a sudden feeling of something jabbing her heart made her stop and slowly turn around. "Na…noha…?"

"I already warned you," Skeith spoke, easily walking towards her, scaring the civilians nearby enough to scatter away from the scary looking girl. "Nanoha is dead."

"Liar!" Fate glared at her. "Let Nanoha go right now!"

"No."

Fate grit her teeth together in fury, calling forth Bardiche into Zanber form "Then I'm afraid I'll have to force you off of her."

"You would attack your lover?"

"The pain she is feeling is more than I could ever do to her body. She's hurting! She's crying! I can feel it in my heart, she's alive! Give her back to me!" thrusting her sword upwards, she released a barrier around them, trapping Skeith within it.

"If you want to fight," Skeith crouched down in a battle stance while flexing her clawed fingers. "Then come on; Let's fight." She watched Fate dash forward with her long sword raised to strike. Skeith simply caught the blade with her hand and gripped it tightly so it couldn't be pulled away. Fate growled deep in her throat, twisting the handle of her sword and breaking it in half long ways. With the new half sword free, she turned around and slashed it to force Skeith away from her. Landing, Skeith slid across the concrete, claws digging a small trench into the grounds. "Not bad," She mused, pushing forward.

"Nanoha!" Fate screamed in her face as the two met in a stalemate, Skeith gripping both blades of the now dual swords. "Wake up!"

"It's too late!" Skeith kicked her stomach, doubling Fate over enough to slam both her hands into her back and forcing the blond down into the ground, shattering the area around her.

"It's never too late!" Fate screamed, grabbing Skeith's ankle and slinging her to the side with a fast jerking of her hand. "Nanoha, fight back!"

"Shut up!" the woman roared, running forward again and attacking. Several magic balls of energy came to life around her, each homing in on the other girl. Fate leapt back into the air and slashed her swords quickly, effectively deflecting all of them into random buildings around the two. The structures immediately gave way to the damage and collapsed around them. Not deterred by the falling debris, the two clashed again. Sparks flew around them as the magic blades clashed against the armor of Skeith's arms and hands. "You're faster than before," She snarled deeply.

"No, you're just slower." Fate kicked Skeith's shin hard enough to make her foot unbalanced before shoving her onto the ground. "Nanoha! I know you can hear me!"

"Shut _up_ I said!" Skeith slammed her elbow back onto the ground, breaking a large hole into it and giving her enough room to rear back and punch the blond in the stomach. The other girl flew backwards in the air to absorb some of the shock and twisted around the still falling debris. A black streak followed her quickly and once again clashed with her in the air. The two shot away form each other and flew to the side quickly, circling before once again ramming into each other and attacking. "I'll rip you apart!"

Fate chose to ignore the statement, instead focusing on slashing her twin swords. Two nicks flecked the black armor, making Fate inwardly wince at the blood. She pressed on still, disregarding the several cuts along her body from the sharp blades around Skeith's arms and hands. Finally they were in another stalemate with Fate's one sword inching toward Skeith's neck and the other pushing back the hand that was trying to rip into her chest. "Nanoha! I believe in you, wake up!" Skeith's body shook lightly, allowing Fate to overpower her enough to pin her against the side of a building in the air. "Nanoha!!!"

Slowly the mask covering Skeith's face crept down, revealing her nose and mouth. "Fate…chan…"

"Nanoha! Fight back! Force it down!"

"I… can't…" The black ooze started to creep upwards again. "Fate…don't let me… hurt anyone else…I've…already… murdered… too many…"

"Nanoha! Don't give up!"

"Save… me…" The mask reclaimed its spot and the eyes flared a bright yellow again. Fate felt several balls of energy rip into her chest and stomach, forcing her back away from the girl.

Flying back, she knocked away the remaining magic bullets and panted as the smoke cleared, neither seeing nor feeling Nanoha anywhere close to her anymore, barrier being destroyed. "Damn it… DAMN IT!" Slowly she sank to the ground and held herself as tears came to her eyes. "Again… I failed again…Nanoha…"

* * *

Next chapter:

Fate: It has been over a month now since Skeith has taken control of Nanoha. Each day the number of people killed rises as she searches for something we can't place.

Caro: I don't want my mother to be like this… With my new Dragon, I want to save her along with everyone else!

Vita: The higher ups have gotten restless… Several top ranking mages have been critically injured by the corrupt seed.

Hayate: Our division has been officially asked to deal with the problem since Skeith has been collecting lost logia…Our orders are to find Skeith…and to kill her on sight.

Fate: Next time on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha StrikerS: 6th division… "The death of Skeith."

* * *

Notes:

M2D: Mobile Monitor Display, the screens that can be summoned and disregarded at will, showing anything form video chat to information.


	6. Chapter 6

It was odd. Now matter how many I fought, none knew the name of the man I was after. Time and time again I got the same answer: 'who?' It was infuriating, making me want to scream. These people had Jewel Seeds, why don't they know my creator? Why does everything seem so confusing? Why hasn't anyone I know tried to contact me now that I was free again, and for that matter where _is_ everyone? Surely they would have felt my presence by now… Despite all the setbacks I can't give up yet, there's still so much I need to do. I have to find 'him'. I have to get my revenge for all the pain my friends and I have gone through…I can't afford to get caught now; too many people are counting on me!

**TSAB: 6****th**** Division VI**

**By: Satashi**

Skeith landed with a loud clinking sound as her clawed armor touched the concrete beneath her. The four people around her all immediately stopped talking and turned to the new arrival, drawing their weapons. "I want your item," She told them steadily as she walked forward, ignoring the humming sounds of charging weaponry. "Hand it over."

"It's her! The one that's hunting Lost Logia traders!" One man charged Skeith, drawing back his staff. "She has a bounty on her head, kill her!"

Skeith easily grabbed the man's face with one hand, gripping it tightly and dragging his struggling body as she kept walking forward. "Hand it over. Now. I won't ask again." With a sharp flick of her wrist she sent the man she held captive flying into one that was jumping at her from the side. She extended her hand slowly, forming a large yellow ball of energy in it before blasting the third man back several yards.

"Take it!" The final man threw the box at her and ran, leaping into the air.

The armor clad female grabbed the box and also took to the air, flying to a nearby skyscraper and landing slowly. The box was pried open carefully, reaching into it and pulling the blue Jewel Seed out of it. "Yes!" Skeith dropped the box in her excitement. "Hanon! It's you! Hanon, wake up!" The seed remained calm. "Hanon! Come on!" Skeith's excitement faded when the seed didn't respond to her. "No…Not you too…" Falling to her knees, the girl caressed the seed in her hands sadly. "Hanon…You were my best friend…" A small teardrop fell, dropping onto the lifeless artifact. "Damn it… How many more will I find dead!?" Her hand reared back and punched the top of the roof, shattering the flooring. "You will pay for toying with our lives…Wily Scaglietti!!"

"Wily…Scaglietti?

Skeith gripped the seed and slid it in a side pouch on her armor as she stood up. Across the roof and to her side was Caro riding on top of her dragon in full size mode. "It's the little brat today," Skeith mused as she walked across the roof towards her. "I'm not in a good mood, leave me before I hurt you."

"Please! Let Nanoha-san go!" Caro swallowed thickly.

"It's been a month now; can you people only say the same thing over and over again?" The woman stopped at the edge, flaring her leather wings out behind her. "I told you, there is something I need to do, and I won't give up this chance to do it!" She threw out her arm in annoyance. "Leave me alone! Stop stalking me!

The pink haired girl stayed silent a moment before nodding to herself. "I'm sorry, I have been ordered to bring you into custody. Please come with me."

"Heh." Skeith flexed her fingers a moment before lunging at the girl with claws outstretched. The auto barrier was destroyed instantly and she landed on top of the dragon right in front of Caro's shocked face. "Your dragon would cause even me a problem," She told her softly. "So I will make it go away!" Clapping her hands together, Skeith yelled out as a yellow magical circle flared around her hands before being thrust down onto the dragon's back. "Disspell!"

Caro felt a part of herself being ripped away as white smoke floated up around her. "No…Freidliche!" All at once the dragon vanished, leaving her to hover in the air a moment before sinking through the smoke and falling. The girl tumbled around helplessly, screaming out in terror as the many floors sailed past her. She could feel her eyes water from the force of the wind as she free fell, mind quickly trying to come up with a plan to stop herself. '_I'm going to die_…' She thought in a sudden realization when the ground started to noticeably get closer to her. The girl closed her eyes and held her breath tightly, too afraid to look. "Mother!!!"

Arms wrapped around the falling girl, quickly changing her course of direction. Caro instantly clung to whoever had saved her and sobbed into their chest as they landed lightly several paces away from the area they had been. A small silence passed before she was rudely dropped to the ground, landing hard and hitting her head on the dirt. Slowly she opened her eyes and stared up in disbelief at Skeith, who was glaring down at her. Without saying anything the woman turned and took back off into the air, leaving the scared and confused girl to lie on the grass. In the sky Skeith flew silently, eyes clouding lightly as her hands gripped the jewel seed she just gained. '_Hanon…Even though we went through everything together you kept saying that murder wasn't right…Why? Why didn't you want to kill him for doing that to us? Why did you keep trying to save people you didn't even know…? Consider this a token to my friend, child.'_ Her eyes glanced behind herself to make sure Caro didn't have some way of following her. '_Next time, I won't hesitate to let you die…_'

* * *

"You fought Skeith!?" Hayate almost screamed out when Caro reported to her. Fate and Yuuno were also staring at the girl in shock, the former running over to her and making sure she was okay. "Caro, you were supposed to contact us the moment you found her!"

"I was, but she spotted me," Caro replied, allowing Fate to obsess over her. "Fate-san, she didn't hurt me, she actually saved me from falling off a building."

"Really?" Fate licked her lips in thought. "Nanoha must still be able to influence Skeith just a little bit…"

"She also said something," Caro recalled, looking up at Fate again. "Wily Scaglietti. I think it's a name?"

Yuuno froze, body posed as if he was about to say something but suddenly decided not to. Fate noticed and looked over at him inquisitively. "Nothing…" He told her, looking away and swallowing.

"You know something?" Fate asked, walking over to him. "That name is too close to that bastard's to let slide!"

"No…" He looked over at Caro.

"Caro, please leave." Fate told her sternly.

"But I-"

"Caro!"

"Yes ma'am!" She saluted before quickly running out of the room.

"Now spill it!" Fate got up into Yuuno's face, glaring at him. The male looked down at her softly for a few seconds to allow Fate a moment to calm down. Once she realized her outbreak Fate sighed and closed her eyes, allowing her forehead to rest against his chest. "I'm sorry Yuuno."

"Its okay," His hands went around her in an encouraging hug. "Fate… Wily Scaglietti… is the one who started Project F." He felt Fate instantly go stiff in his arms. "His research was continued by Precia…"

"The way I was created…" She whispered softly, eyes now wide. Although the arms around her tightened, she could find no comfort after the news. "So Skeith…"

"…Is probably related to your birth in some way." He finished for her sadly. "I'll bring up the files I have on my computer back home. I'll be back in a week tops."

"Okay…Thank you."

* * *

"Doctor Wily," A middle aged man walked across the laboratory with a clipboard in his hands. "Here are the results from the last testing; it seems that the child we used made it a lot farther than the rest. We believe it's because he had lost his will to live and didn't have conflicting emotions."

"I see…" The man turned to accept the clipboard of papers. Dark gray hair hung around his head around a bald spot on top, paired with a mustache that was equally gray with wisp of white flecking it. "Then I believe we should neutralize any un-needed emotions before the conversion process."

"Suggestions?"

"Take out everything but fear, hate, jealousy, envy, pride, sadness and anger. This is a minor set back, but it will ultimately lead to the creation of the perfect A.I!"

"Sir," The man nodded and walked over to the large computer, typing out commands. "Which test subject will undergo this?"

"How about the one with the yellow hair? She seems to be the most influenced by emotions."

"Why do you allow Hanon to stay out of the experiments?" The assistant asked, looking over at him. "She constantly defiles us. She's a test subject, we should use her?"

"She keeps them from dieing," Wily replied casually. "Just one more thing we don't have to worry about. Now, bring the girl. Purge her emotions and place her under observation. Also make sure Hanon and her are together. I wish to use it to farther push the lass over the edge when I convert her into a jewel seed. She will be the ultimate weapon of destruction…not even the book of darkness will match her!"

"Yes sir!" The man walked over to a large cage in the room, unlocking it and walking over to a teenage girl and grabbing her arm. "You're up."

"No, no!" The girl fought back weakly, trying to free herself. "Don't kill me! Hanon! Hanon help me!" She reached out towards the blue haired girl, who instantly tried to pull her back.

"Stay!" The assistant kicked the other girl, knocking her to the side and dragging out the still screaming prisoner.

"Don't….don't…" The girl cried softly, too tired to protest physically anymore. "I don't' want to die… don't kill me…"

"You won't die," Wily informed her, locking her into a chair and placing a type of helmet onto her head. "After this, you will feel better."

"Ready to purge, doctor."

"Begin process." He passively watched as the girl began to spasm and cry in pain. "Let's code name this one… I have high expectations…"

"Name, sir?"

"Call her…. Skeith."

* * *

A flash of lightning and roar of thunder awoke Skeith from her nightmare slowly. Her eyes opened and stared out from under the bridge where she was currently hiding. The girl wiped sweat from her face and leaned over to get comfortable, ignoring the trail of tears rolling down her cheeks.

"_That must have been painful,_" a voice from inside told her, making Skeith gasp and look around. "_I had no idea…_"

"_Oh…it's you._" Skeith settled down and glared at nothing in particular as she talked to Nanoha. "_You just won't shut up will you?_"

"_I'm bored,_" She replied a little snippy before calming back down again. "_So that is why you are after the doctor?_"

"_Shut up, I don't need to answer any of your questions. Go back to sleep._" She gripped her fist hard as she concentrated, forcing the voice back down into the recesses of her mind. Once silenced, Skeith stood and stretched before flying out from the bridge and looking around. '_The people have increased their efforts to bring me down,_' she thought bitterly as the rain and wind lashed around her body. '_I can't find him anywhere, but I know he worked in this city…He stopped his aging process so he couldn't have died… What if someone else killed him? No!_' Skeith snarled angrily. '_I have to be the one to…_' She came to a stop, eyes meeting the woman's in front of her. "Signum," she stated as she flexed her fingers to prepare for battle.

"Skeith," She replied in kind, drawing her sword. "I won't waste time with words. My unit was ordered to bring you in, and I will."

The girl glared at Signum a moment before screaming and flying forward. The sword was grabbed with one hand when she was close, but felt it be pulled out of her grasp and slung again. Skeith brought her arm up and caught it on the spikes covering her armor, twisting her body as she allowed the blade to slip past her without a cut. Attacking again, she punched Signum's blade back and followed up with a roundhouse, knocking the woman away. '_I can't win without a weapon,_' She thought bitterly as her opponent's blade shattered into something she called 'snake form.'

Signum lashed her sword chain whip quickly, making it loop around her enemy and tie the arms to her sides. "Yield." She tugged on her handle, biting the blades into the armor and scratching it.

"Not until I finish what I need to do," Skeith spat at her as she wiggled to try to free herself, ignoring the wounds it caused.

"What do you need to do?" Signum flew forwards and looked into her eyes. "Maybe we can work out a deal. We will help you if you give us Nanoha back."

"Like I would fall for something like that?" Skeith grinned darkly, making Signum look down in shock at the bloody arm pressing against her stomach. "Data Drain!" Several orange beams shot out from Skeith's wrist, twirling slowly as red and green hexagons filled the spaces between them, leaving several places open. "Raising Heart may refuse me as its master," She told Signum as a black ball of energy shot into her stomach. "But that won't keep me from copying yours!"

Signum felt her body go numb, the rain steadily weighing her down to the point where she just wanted to collapse. All of her energy left, being sucked away into the red and black stream leading to Skeith's hand. Finally after what seemed like countless seconds Signum passed out, falling through the air and landing harshly in the river below.

Skeith gasped out, eyes going wide as the magic poured through her. "Phase Shift!" She cried out, reaching behind her back and gripping her hand. Yellow energy flared around her as she pulled upwards, as if unsheathing the sword that was being created. "Signum!" Once the weapon was free, the woman swung the sword around a few times to get the feel of it. It was almost a perfect copy of the knight's weapon, only tinted with a yellow that matched her eyes. "Now, I can properly defend myself against them." Looking to the side, she narrowed her eyes as the rain stung the skin of her wounded arm. "But first, I need to heal…" Her eyes looked downwards as the blood oozed out from the multiple cuts she received while wiggling her arm out of the snake bind.

* * *

"They found Signum," Rein told Hayate after closing a monitor display. "She's in the hospital wing right now; Shamal says she will be fine. She took serious damage to her linker core."

"Signum…" Hayate waved off the monitors around herself and scooted her chair back. "I'm going to check on her." Quickly she grabbed her coat and briskly walked to the door. As soon as she opened it she ran into someone's chest, making her fall backwards. A strong hand reached out and caught her, preventing the woman from hitting the floor. "Sorry," She apologized quickly before looking up to see who it was. "…Admiral Chrono!?"

"Hey," He grinned, winking. "You sure looked stressed, glad I came." Chrono helped her to stand up properly and chuckled to himself. "I heard you were assigned to take down some SS-ranked mage and were having troubles so I came to visit everyone on my leave and see if I could help!" He brought up an arm and flexed his muscle playfully. "I'll knock'em out before they know what happened!" Chrono waited a moment for a laugh but when he didn't receive one he looked down again. "Hey… What's wrong, you're so serious looking all of a sudden?"

"Chrono," She spoke softly, looking down. "I'm sorry I hid this from you in the reports but…"

"…What is it?" A flash of lightning made the lights flicker in the office. "Did something bad happen?"

She sighed. "Walk with me."

* * *

Fate woke up slowly, eyes not wanting to open even though they were being commanded to. Words spun around her as people talked but she couldn't seem to make sense of any of it. Finally after a few moments she managed to make out her name and a face came close to hers. Chrono gave her a sad look, making her realize that she must have fallen asleep while leaning against him. Although she hadn't seen him in a little over two months their reunion wasn't fun at all, being mostly nothing but her crying and him being briefed on the situation. The world shifted as she was picked up and carried off, hearing something about a proper night's rest. "No," She whispered, trying to move enough so she would be placed on her feet. "I have to search… I have to…"

"She's been like this since Yuuno-kun left," Hayate told Chrono as they went from the office building to the residential area. "I think her nap just now was the first time she's slept in over forty-eight hours." Her gaze went to the girl who was giving up her struggle simply because her body wouldn't allow her to move anymore. "When she does sleep…she screams and cries."

"She stays with you?" Chrono tried to make his little sister more comfortable as he carried her.

"Whenever I can convince her of it. She sleeps on her couch, I don't think she's gotten in her bed since Nanoha was taken over."

"I see…Yuuno's been taking care of her?"

"Yeah, he's pretty bad off too, but he's hiding it well for her sake." She nodded at Fate.

"How are you?"

"She sleeps roughly five hours a day," Rein informed him when they met up on the elevator.

"Rein!" Hayate scolded her. "Don't tell him that."

"Get some rest tonight, as your superior I command you." He walked out of the elevator when they reached the sixth floor. "You are forbidden to leave your quarters from now until lunch tomorrow."

"Yes sir," She saluted him as the doors closed. "…Thank you."

Chrono opened the door to his sister's loft and walked into it, frowning at the sight. Everything was clean and in place and it was slightly warm in the room. "Been cleaning?"

"I can't sleep, so I clean." She whispered, voice tired. "Don't change the temperature… Nanoha likes it a little warm."

"And you like it more than just a little cold," He told her, sitting the girl on the couch and knocking the temperature down several degrees. "You will sleep better if you're comfortable."

"But I need to-"

"We will. Tomorrow. Sleep." He pushed her back down onto the couch. "I'm going to stay the night okay?"

"Okay," Fate gave up and allowed herself to close her eyes, pressing her back far into the couch. "Yuuno sleeps on my bed, help yourself."

"Thank you," Chrono stayed downstairs until he heard soft snores coming from his little sister then headed up the stairs and looking around. The bed was neat as well, probably Yuuno's doing. Several of the man's clothes were laid out and two suitcases were at the foot of the bed. '_I guess she can't sleep in such a big bed by herself…_'

* * *

"Hanon! Don't let them take you! I need you!"

"Shhh, I knew this time would come eventually," The blue haired girl whispered softly to the teenager in her arms. "If they succeed on me, you won't have to go through it," She added in, gently hugging her. "So I need to do this. If it will spare you, I will do anything."

"Hanon…why? Why are you always protecting me… I don't understand…?" Tears fell down the girl's cheeks freely.

Gently Hanon moved her chin up so they could look into each other's eyes. "One day…" The girl kissed her softly. "You will understand. Don't let them win, Aura. Don't let go of what remains of what they took away. Embrace them."

"I don't understand…" Skeith sobbed out again as the lab assistant took Hanon's shoulder and puller her away. "Hanon! Don't take Hanon!"

"Quiet, Skeith." The assistant yelled at her. "You are coming to watch!"

"Don't let her see!" Hanon shouted at him. "I'll come peacefully, she doesn't need to witness it!"

"On the contrary," He grinned at her. "This is what we're going for."

"No… NO!" Hanon tried to force herself free of his grasp. "You said she would be let go! You promised!"

A quick injection on her neck made Hanon fall limp, allowing the man to heft her over his shoulder and drag Skeith along. The blue haired girl was placed in a type of vertical glass tube before it was filled with a strange liquid. "Hanon is ready, doctor." He spoke, forcing Skeith in a chair to watch. "You may begin conversion."

"Don't hurt her!" Skeith screamed, struggling as hard as she could. Her eyes frantically looked around for some way of getting loose and helping her. Scared and confused, she struggled harder, crying in pain as the binds started to cut into her skin. Lights flared all at once, drawing her attention to the girl floating in the liquid as what she could only describe as lightning flared out around it. "Hanon…" Her eyes widened in terror as smoke cleared, now showing only a pulsating blue crystal where the girl had once been.

"Transformation complete!" The assistant cried out in joy. "Consciousness level…..seventy percent!"

"Our best yet," Wily mused as he walked over to grab the jewel seed. "Soon… Soon we will be able to make the perfect A.I…. the most powerful weapon that can truly think for itself and not be bound by a program!"

"Hanon…" Skeith gripped her fist, slowly raising her head to glare at the doctor. "I'm going to kill you… with my own hands, I swear it."

"Yes, yes, goooood." Wily smirked down at her. "Hate me! Despise me! I will use those to make you our first true success!" His sick smile only got bigger when Skeith spat on him. "Soon, yes, soon… You will become my greatest achievement!"

* * *

Skeith gasped out, sitting up from the mud and holding a hand to her mouth to try and keep herself from getting sick. Looking around, she realized that the rain from the past few days had let up and the sun was once again shining. She didn't feel any better from the change, though, and bent over, one arm across her stomach and the other still covering her mouth as she cried softly. "Hanon…"

"_Skeith…_"

"_Go away… Go away, I can't deal with you right now…_"

"_You didn't chose to be this way, Skeith… It's not too late to turn back!_"

"_Shut up!_" She tried to collect herself. "_You just want your body back! You don't care about me, you never have and you never will! No one does! I'm alone… I'm always be alone…_"

"_Skeith…_"

"_Stop looking into my dreams! Stop digging up my past!"_

"_You're not a bad person, I can tell! Skeith, stop what you're doing! Stop hurting people! Can't you see this is exactly what they wanted!?"_

"_Shut up! Shut up! Shut up, shut up, SHUT UP!" _Skeith gripped her head and sobbed out. "_I don't want to remember this! I just want my revenge! You can have your body back after that, just leave me alone, Nanoha!"_

"…_That's the first time you've said my name._"

Skeith shook her head roughly. "_Go away… Please… You don't know what it's like…_"

"_I do. When we met, I"_

"_I don't care about that! I don't understand! I don't understand anything! Why are those people still trying to rescue you!? Why haven't they given up!? Why do they cry when they see me!? Why?! WHY!?_" She didn't wait for and answer, instead pushing Nanoha back down into her mind, once again given blessed silence. '_When I first woke up it was so easy…_' She thought to herself as she stood. '_I only had to think about killing…But now… What are these feelings…Why am I hesitating!? Murder is common isn't it? That's all I've seen, why do I not kill people now? Hanon… What were you trying to teach me… What are the emotions I lost? It hurts, Hanon… It hurts so bad…_' Slowly she walked down the slope under the bridge and into the water below to try and remove the dirt and mud that was on her after sleeping.

* * *

"I'm back," Yuuno called out as he stepped inside of the loft apartment. Cool air greeted him instantly, making him blink. "Fate, you here?" Looking around, he noticed that someone had slept on the couch last night but when he put his hand on it, realized that Fate probably had been up and out for a while now. A sound from the upstairs made him quickly leap to the air and fly over to it, seeing Chrono sit up lazily and yawn. "Chrono-kun!?"

"Yuuno?" He couldn't help but grin at the man. "How long has it been since we've seen each other in person?"

"A long time." The two friends smiled at each other before Yuuno suddenly got serious. "You know then?"

"…I know."

"I have my research," Yuuno held up something that looked like a book. "I went through everything I found and put it all in a report. Where is Fate, she needs to hear this too."

"She's not downstairs?" He got a shaking of the head. "Dammit… Can't she wait for anything…?"

* * *

"Nicely done," Vita congratulated the forwards. "Caro, good work with your dragon. I'm pleasantly surprised to see you recover so fast after summoning him again."

"Thank you," She panted, reaching out to rub her Dragon's back to compliment it as well.

"Subaru, Tia, nice combination today." She gave them a rare praise and immediately turned to Elio. "Can you still not call that armor you told us about?"

"No ma'am," He looked down. "I don't have any idea how it works." His face picked up a little when he felt Caro's hand reach up and take his to give an encouraging squeeze.

"Vita!" Yuuno called out, landing next to her from the air. "Training over?"

"For now, when did you get back?" She looked up at the boy. "Did you get the information?"

"Yeah, help me gather everyone." He nodded to the girls. "Take the rest of the day off."

"But, don't we get to know too!?" Tia asked, shocked. "She's our friend also!"

"Sorry, this has information you don't need to hear." Yuuno gave them a sad look before leaping into the air, followed by Vita.

"We don't need to hear…?" Subaru asked softly, looking at the people fly away.

* * *

"That's all of us," Hayate confirmed as Shamal walked into the office. "Rein, lights please." The smaller part of herself nodded and typed on a keyboard display, making the curtains close and the lights dim. "Yuuno, what do you have for us?"

"Well," He started, standing up and walking to the middle of the dark room. Hayate and her knights, as well as Chrono and his sister were all present for this. He seemed to have trouble beginning so he turned to look over at Fate. " Um…"

"Be blunt, it's okay." Fate nodded at him. "I'm a big girl."

"Right," He pushed his glasses up and waved his hand, making several displays appear around him so everyone could see. "We all know Jail Scaglietti, illegal logia collector, mastermind behind several relic disappearances, and also head of illegal projects… Such as Project F." Several images came up of females in large tubes, suspended in liquid. "Project F is the code name he uses to refer to his creation of artificial beings. However, he is not the first person to attempt to do so, as we all know." He ignored the several worried glances being cast at Fate. "I'll get to the point. Caro has given us a name spoken by Skeith: Wily Scaglietti."

Several images of an old scientist appeared in the air. "He is the great grandfather of Jail whose main purpose was to create the perfect artificial intelligence. His methods were cruel and when the TSAB found out about it, he was brought down immediately. He tried to escape with his project: the Jewel Seeds. He stashed them on a deserted planet before being captured, later to be found by none other than myself. Several of them went to non administrated planet number ninety-seven. Precia Testarossa recovered Wily's research and improved upon it, ultimately creating Project F based on those notes. Instead of trying to create AI by using real humans as the base, she implanted AI into a human." Yuuno glanced at Fate, who was still watching. "We all know the rest so I'll skip ahead a little.

"I scattered the seeds before Precia could get them, and we ended up bringing her to justice. We thought that was the end of the jewel seeds but as time passed we realized that there were more that weren't accounted for. As of now, Jail is creating his own by whatever means, we don't know."

"What does this have to do with Skeith?" Fate finally asked.

"I was getting there," He told her gently. Several more images appeared on the screen. "Skeith is…The first success of complete artificial intelligence. She was once a Mid-childra born child but she was turned into Jewel Seed Zero. With the process being completed once already, Precia easily altered it to make her own…. Fate."

Fate leaned forward, rubbing her eyes. "Skeith is my proto type."

"Yes."

The girl felt Chrono rub her back soothingly as she absorbed the information. "Continue."

"I'm sorry," Yuuno gave her one more glance before speaking again. "Fate, as we know, has every resemblance to a real human being, down to her very DNA since she was in all ways, replicated from her sister. She is a real girl… Skeith is, how should I say, no more than a program with a human heart, surpassing everything we know today."

"Even me?" Rein asked softly, getting eyes on her. "I'm a program, but I still…?"

"Rein-chan is indeed very advanced," Yuuno smiled at her. "But you are still limited to your master, as are the knights. For example, none of you could harm Hayate. Even if you wanted to, you are her protectors, it's in your code. You are all individuals with personalities and souls, but still limited. Skeith is a free will, able to do anything, any time, anywhere. She chose to save Nanoha, and chose to bind herself in the process."

"So if she is her own will, how can we save Nanoha?" Vita asked, annoyed. "You're giving us information, I want a strategy!"

"Calm down, Vita-chan." Hayate spoke to her softly, putting an arm around the girl. The room was dark but she was close enough to tell that the smaller girl was trying to blink back tears.

"If Nanoha can suppress Skeith for a while, we could make a unison device and put Skeith's program in it. The AI would be gone but the jewel seed will still be on her."

"If we only knew Skeith was a program from the start…" Shamal whispered, closing her eyes. "I could have made something better…"

"Its my fault for not getting the information," Yuuno countered, voice obviously in pain. "If only I had…"

"Yuuno, that information took you over six years to find," Signum told him sternly. "There is no blame to be passed around. We need to solve this problem instead of pointing fingers at ourselves."

"Yes," Yuuno brought up more images. "I have a plan."

* * *

Skeith grit her teeth, angrily lashing out at the people around her. Her sword cut the very air as she swung, forcing several TSAB members flying back and rolling on the ground. The ambush on her didn't work the way they had planned, and several double A ranked mages were injured, pushing themselves up slowly. The girl walked over to one of them and kicked him over, raising her sword up to impale him. Refusing to scream, the male glared up at her, awaiting his death. Seconds ticked past before Skeith made a scoffing sound and sheathed her weapon, angrily flying away. '_I hate this! I'm so confused I can't think straight!_' She flew quickly, childishly destroying random items in her path before jetting into a forest and cutting down trees in frustration. '_I'm supposed to kill! I'm supposed to get revenge! I have to avenge them! All of them!_' Several more trees fell over as she punched and clawed through the bark. '_Why!? Why am I letting myself be held back!? What am I feeling!?_' The back of her neck itched slightly at the same time as a sharp pain rang through her heart. "Fate."

"You can feel the synergy Nanoha and I share," The blond spoke, drawing Bardiche in his scythe form. "Its proof Nanoha is still alive inside you."

Skeith flexed her fingers, growling deep in her throat. "I see… It's her that's holding me back. It's her that's keeping me scared and confused. It's… its HER!" Skeith's eyes glared at Fate darkly, tears leaking from them. "If I kill you I'll be able to seal her completely, and then I can finish my mission!" Reaching behind herself, she gripped air. Her hand pulled up quickly as she formed a sword. "Phase shift: Signum!" Screaming out, she launched herself forward to engage in battle.

Fate parried the attack gracefully, twirling her scythe around and attempting to hit her stomach with the staff part but missing. "How did you get that sword?"

"My secret!" Skeith slashed again, this time putting more effort into it and sending Fate reeling back. Instead of chasing, she was forced to jump into the air to avoid several balls of energy crashing where she just stood. Her eyes turned to see Vita, gripping her hammer tightly in her hands. Instinct made her dodge the next attack, narrowly avoiding Signum's sword as she flashed beside her. Skeith twisted in the air to avoid two crystals attached to strings leading over to Shamal's fingers. Beside her Zafira stood as well, already trapping them within a barrier. "Che…"

Yuuno made his appearance next, forcing the girl to speed up her evasive movements to avoid being caught in a bind spell. Her escape was cut off roughly as she found her right leg suddenly being frozen. Looking around, she spotted Chrono not too far away, eyes cold as ice. '_Too many,_' She realized in fear. '_I can't take them all!_' Despite it, she found herself gripping her fist in annoyance. '_Why? WHY!?_' She flew to the side of the barrier, only to be shot back by an outside blast that was allowed entry. Subaru hovered outside the dome on top of her wing road. The blue magic looped around the dome several times and the Stars and Lightning Members were all placed around it, re-enforcing the barrier and making sure Skeith couldn't get out. '_Why do they go to such lengths for her!?_'

Skeith looked around herself as the people surrounded her from all angles. '_It can't end here…I have to avenge them!'_ With a scream Skeith flared out her energy, shoving everyone back away from her. Several magic bullets shot out, each homing in on a different person. Combined with the attack, Skeith darted forward towards Fate. Her sword clashed furiously against her scythe and after a few swings, broke the girl down to her knees. A quick sidekick knocked Fate over and allowed Skeith to take to the air, spinning her sword around Shamal. The green clad woman expertly dodge the attack, flying backwards so Signum could take over the encounter. She came paired with Vita, who both double teamed her.

Pulling away, she felt a chill run down her spine as Chrono once again had a clear shot. Her armor caught a light lair of frost on it before she flew away, flapping her wings once. Tia was ready for her and emptied both of her gun barrels in a successful attempt to keep Skeith from trying to leave the barrier. The girl reloaded quickly, running along the wing road to keep a steady eye on her.

Hayate attacked next, silver hair flowing around her as her staff flashed a rain of fire upon her. A section of the forest below caught flames, giving Skeith enough time with the distraction to fly down into them, only to be greeted by Fate once more. "Just _die_!" She screamed out, once again clashing blades with her. Several cuts flecked her body from the pulsating plasma blade making her run to the side to get some distance and fire several bullets. "I won't lose here, I won't!" Yellow energy ripped around her, slinging everyone into the barrier and bouncing them off.

Increasing her speed, Skeith darted around the dome, using her fist and feet to beat up everyone she could before the short spell was over. Yuuno and Shamal fell to the ground, wincing in pain since their shields weren't up at the moment of attack. "Die! All of you!" Skeith pulled her sword again, slashing hectically at Vita and finally managing to get in a solid slice on her side. Zafira came to her rescue by biting the woman's thigh and making her dart away. "Stop getting in my WAY!" a large ball of energy formed, which she threw at the wolf, knocking through his shield and sending him to the ground.

Fate once again got in close, slashing and parrying with a speed that matched her opponents. "We will not give up!" Fate told her sternly. "Nanoha!"

"Don't say that name!" Skeith screamed, pupils dilating. "Stop pretending to care! No one cares for anyone!"

"Is that what your twisted mind thinks!?" Fate called back, grabbing the blade with her hand and ignoring the roaring pain it caused. Her scythe slashed out, cleaving clean through Skeith's armor on her chest. "We love her! All of us!"

"There's no such thing!" Skeith pulled her sword back, slicing Fate's hand. Continuing, she stabbed her sword forward, narrowly missing her. "There's only pain and sadness!"

"Listen to yourself!" Fate flipped up her scythe, catching the end under Skeith's chin. With a twirl she launched her opponent against a burning tree and flew after her when she went straight through it. "You're nothing but a demon!"

"They are the demons!" Skeith countered, throwing burning ashes into Fate's eyes. "I'll kill them all! I have to! They won't rest peacefully until I do!"

"Who!?" Fate leapt backwards, allowing Chrono to freeze the area along with Hayate while she tried to clear her vision.

Skeith jumped through the sudden frozen ground and slid on the ice. The temperature change was so drastic she could even see her breath now as she panted. "All of them! Everyone who died in the process!" She slashed her sword, sending arched energy blades to the woman. "And everyone who died while sealed after it!" She slid along the ice as Yuuno once again tried to bind her unsuccessfully.

"Wily is dead!" Fate screamed, suddenly appearing in front of Skeith and sending magic bullets into her stomach. "He's _been_ dead!"

"I don't believe you!" Skeith lost her sword in the barrage so launched into attacking with her fist again. "What would you know!? You have no idea what it's like! Knowing you're not real!"

"Ha!" Fate bent backwards and flip kicked her followed by a sweep kick that made Skeith jump to avoid it. "You idiot!" The blond grabbed Skeith's ankle and jerked, slamming her into the ground. "I was created by the same process!"

"What!?" Skeith pushed up and pounced her, fist blazing.

Fate dodged the attacks and grabbed the hands, feeling her own being cut by the sharp curved armor blades. "You heard me!" The two rolled around on the ground, trying to gain superiority. "The research that made you also created me!" Fate managed to push Skeith down and punched her, having lost Bardiche.

"You're lying! You're _lying_!" Skeith kneed Fate and shoved her off. "You can't be! If you were, you would be helping me! Helping me avenge them!"

"I _am_!" Fate threw several small magical daggers at Skeith before dodging her own version being tossed right back at her. "I've been chasing his great grandson to bring him down!"

"You don't care about that! No one cares!" Skeith felt her eyes water as the battle continued, each sliding on the slick frozen ground. "We're all alone in the end!"

"I'll die before I allow Nanoha to be alone!" Fate screamed mere inches in front of Skeith's face when she got close enough. "I love you, Nanoha! Fight her down!"

"_Fate…_"

"No!" Skeith pulled one hand back and punched Fate in the stomach, doubling her over. "I'll take you down so you will be too weak to fight anymore!" She pushed her hand out, forming three orange strips around her wrist. The energy grew, starting to rotate around her arm while forming red and greed hexagons between them. "Data Drain!"

Fate ignored the sudden pain from the attack, grabbing Skeith by the shoulders. "Nanoha! Come back! Fight this!"

Skeith's mask crept downwards slowly revealing her nose and mouth. "Fate…"

"Nanoha!" The blonde's eyes began to droop as her magic was siphoned away. "Nanoha…"

"Fate! Fate!" tears spilled from her eyes all at once.

"Don't let her… control you…Nanoha…" Fate leaned forward, using the last of her energy to grip her neck and pull her into a kiss.

Skeith gasped, turning around quickly in the pitch black area she was in. "What… No!" She turned around, seeing Nanoha's body in front of her. "No…No, no, no!"

"Skeith…" Nanoha took a few steps forward, placing both her hands on the girl's shoulders. Her enemy brought both hands up to her face and sobbed out. "Why are you crying, Skeith?"

"I'm scared, I'm angry, I'm confused!" She looked at her counterpart with terrified eyes. "Why? Why are they doing this!? Why are they getting hurt just to help you!?"

"Because we're friends." Nanoha closed her eyes calmly. "I would do the same for them."

"But…I don't understand…"

"Skeith…Don't be afraid of these feelings… They are what was robbed from you, I saw it in your dreams. These are what makes you human, not a program. Skeith… Can't you see? You've become just what they wanted you to be."

"No…I… I'm different… I'm not their toy, I-"

"Skeith!" The harsh word made the girl stop her ramblings. "Look at yourself… you don't have to be this way. I know, we've been together too long for me not to have noticed it. You're not evil deep inside. You're just afraid to accept the truth."

"What is the truth?" Skeith looked at her pleadingly, her rage gone.

"You can't seek revenge for your lost friends. Skeith, they don't want you to become what Wily wanted just to avenge their death. They would want you, the survivor, to live. To not be held back, to hold your head up. You don't bear the burden of their death, Skeith… you are your own being. You are alive, you have a heart, and you have a soul. There is more than pain, there is more than fear… there is love Skeith."

Skeith's eyes went wide as Fate kissed her. "This… this is the same feeling as Hanon… Before she…"

"She loved you," Nanoha told her softly. "This is that feeling. Fate loves me as well, and she is doing everything for me… Just as Hanon did for you."

"This is what she wanted me to know…" Skeith fell to her knees and placed her hands on the ground. "These are the feelings I've lost…" Slowly she hugged herself. "Hanon… I'm sorry… I didn't realize it till now…" Her voice broke as her tears started to fall. "I've done so many horrible things…"

"That's not important right now." Nanoha knelt down in front of her. "You are realizing it, that's what matters. You feel sorry for it, something that would make Hanon be proud of you. Keep these feelings, keep them in your heart. The love Hanon gave you, the feeling of what's right, and friendship."

"Friendship…They're all dead…"

"Not true," The words made Skeith look up at her. "How about one to start?" Nanoha offered her hand to her. "Lets be friends…Aura."

The girl slowly reached up to take the offered hand. "My name…It's been so long…" Their fingers touched each others, illuminating the area in a bright light.

"Fate?" Nanoha opened her eyes, realizing that she was no longer inside her own soul. "Fate! Are you okay?"

"Nanoha…?" Fate looked at her. "Is it you…?"

"Yes…Yes honey, it's me." Nanoha hugged Fate close. "Did I hurt you?"

"No… just weak…" Fate gave her a smile before shakily wrapping her hands back around her. "Its really you…" She sobbed out loudly, embracing her harder. "I missed you! Nanoha!"

"Yeah," She coughed out, crying into Fate's hair. "I missed you too! So much!" The black armor around her slowly dissolved back inside of her, replacing it with the soft white and blue fabric of her own jacket.

"Welcome back, my master." Raising Heart spoke up as the self locking seal was removed.

"Nanohaaa!!!" The crowd of people all ran towards her at once, hugging and prying the girl off other people to hug her themselves.

"Ow, hey, it hurts!" She protested lightly as Yuuno pulled her off of Signum and gave her a bear hug. "I missed you too, hey stop it!" She felt Shamal pull her off Yuuno and grip her tightly, only to be shoved away by Chrono who also hugged her. Finally after everyone seemed to settle down she noticed one more person who was standing slightly away from them. "Vita-chan?"

Vita was blinking rapidly, shoulders lightly trembling. "I don't need to hug you," She protested, voice obviously shaking. "I told you we'd protect you didn't I?"

Nanoha knelt down, opening her arms. "Come here, Vita-chan." The words struck the girl hard, breaking through her last defenses and allowing her to freely cry and run into her arms. "There there, Vita-chan, I'm okay."

"Nanoha! Nanoha! Nanohaaaaaa!" Vita sobbed loudly, hugging the woman harshly and rubbing her face against her while gripping her shirt tightly.

"Mommy?" Caro asked, finally getting through the barrier and to her.

"Caro-chan!" Nanoha lifted an arm to allow the girl to share in the hug. "Aw, my two little girls!"

The other members of the forwards smiled, allowing the oldest friends to settle themselves down before also walking over and welcoming back their teacher.

* * *

"So it's under control?" Shamal asked as she continued the examination of Nanoha. They were alone in the hospital wing currently, undergoing the post mission physical and check up. "Do you feel anything at all from the jewel seed?"

"Yes, but it's nothing like it was," Nanoha replied, shivering as the cold metal piece touched her bare chest so Shamal could listen to her heart beat. Once done, she continued. "She won't try to take me over anymore."

"How can you be sure?" Shamal stuck a plastic type strip on her forehead to take her temperature.

"I just am. She doesn't need to be sealed anymore. She's sleeping." Nanoha put a hand over her heart. "She's tired."

"I want to examine you every day regardless."

Nanoha gave her a light smile. "Come on, I'm a tough girl, I'm fine."

"Nanoha."

The tone of voice made her wince. "…Yes ma'am… but can I please get dressed, I'm awefully chilly."

"Fine, fine. I'll continue the rest of it tomorrow. I'm sure you just want some sleep about now."

"Yes, please." Nanoha began to get dressed. "Thank you for the check up."

"Always dear. Remember, Every day. I don't care when."

"Yes ma'am." Nanoha slid up her miniskirt easily and zipped it. "… I think I've lost weight." She turned around in front of the full length mirror in the examination room. "I did… a good ten pounds."

"You should eat healthy," She told the girl. "Make sure your body is okay, you know how much magic strains us."

"Yes, yes," Nanoha turned and saluted her playfully. "Can I go to my girlfriend now? Pretty please?"

Shamal smiled at her. "Sure, go ahead." The woman had to bite back a laugh as Nanoha literally ran to the door and pounced Fate once outside of it. "Make it quick, I need to examine Fate as well, she was cut pretty badly."

* * *

"Man what a day," Nanoha sighed out as she collapsed onto her bed. " Ahhh….. My bed… how I missed you." She felt Fate sit down next to her and gently rub her back. "Mmm… I missed that too…"

"It's all really over?" Fate asked her softly.

"Yes. Don't worry anymore. Everything is fine." Nanoha rolled over onto her back and pulled Fate down on top of her. "Hold me?"

"Always," Fate gripped her tightly, pulling her close. "I'm never letting go."

"Don't want you to." Nanoha cuddled her. "The loft looks great, by the way. Nice and clean and inviting."

Fate couldn't help but laugh a little. "I cleaned for you."

"Thank you." She kissed Fate lightly. "I really want to stay up talking but I'm so, _so_ tired…"

"Sleep." Fate allowed a single happy tear to roll down her face. "If I cry any more I'm going to dehydrate."

"Nyahaha." Nanoha's laugh made Fate pull her even closer. "Owie, I'm really sore, Fate-chan." She still allowed her to cling to her despite the words. "You didn't have to beat me to a pulp you know."

"I tried to use the best strategy you would use," Fate told her happily.

"What's that?"

"Beat them up and then talk to them when they're so weak they can't move."

Nanoha giggled to herself. "Worked wonders on you, after all." She kissed her nose. "Now, back to that sleep thing we talked about?"

"Sure," Fate reached up and cut off the reading light above their bed. "Sweet dreams, Nanoha."

"Mmm, sweet dreams, Fate-chan."

* * *

Nanoha looked around, realizing she was once again in the pure black area within her own mind. The tone of a tuning fork came to her ears, making her turn around to see a woman with lightning yellow hair and eyes looking at her. "…Aura?"

"Yes," She confirmed sadly. "I have something I need to tell you."

"What is it?" Nanoha walked over to her, worried. "Is everything okay? You look sad."

"I know you're blaming yourself for what I've done," Aura spoke softly. "It's my fault I killed those people, not yours." She looked down a moment. "I've come here today to atone for my sins."

"What do you mean?"

Aura closed her eyes. "I'm tired, Nanoha… I want to rest." Her hands extended, forming a yellow ball of energy in them. "Take this…It's my atonement."

"What…?" Nanoha reached forward, touching the energy and gasping as it was absorbed into her body slowly. "…A…ura…"

"I'll teach you how to phase shift," She whispered, a tear coming from one of her eyes. "So you can use it to rightfully stop people who hurt others… that is the data seeds of Signum and Fate, the only two that I collected. With that you will be able to change your form and power to mimic theirs. I know you'll use it rightfully."

"I feel… something else…AURA!"

"The third form… is my own: Skeith, the soul reaver." She smiled despite being sad. "You see, I'm actually not very smart… I thought about it for a long time and this is the only solution I could come up with."

"Aura, no! you don't have to do this! You changed, its okay now!"

Aura slowly started to fade away. "I give my life to ask forgiveness for those I have taken. This is my final will. Be free of worry, Nanoha… I will take all the guilt along with me… Goodbye."

"Aura!" Nanoha screamed out, feeling the energy slowly sink into her own soul. "Aura…"

On the bed, Fate smiled to herself when Nanoha's arms gripped her tighter. She snuggled her back against her girlfriend's front, not knowing of the tears that drowned in her hair.

* * *

Next time:

Fate: It has been a few weeks since the whole Skeith ordeal. Nanoha was extremely sad at first but after a few days and the legal tape was cleared, she started to cheer up again. I'm happy she's smiling more, its so reliving to see it once again.

Nanoha: Fate-chan, come on! It's time to leave! My parents are waiting on us!

Fate: Coming, Nanoha! Next time, on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha 6th Division:

Nanoha: "A merry Christmas and a new beginning!"


	7. Chapter 7

It has been almost two weeks now since Nanoha was returned to us. The days are flying by carelessly now that everything has fallen back into routine. All of the forwards are training extra hard now since Nanoha seems to want to make up for lost time by being tougher on them. It was fun to watch their battles sometimes. Because Nanoha lowered her limiter to B+ in order to go all out on the forwards, she has actually lost one battle thanks to Caro's dragon lighting her ass on fire. Quite literally. The memory brings a smile to my lips. Nanoha had jumped into the water around the training area to put out the flames that just so happen to burn a hole through her barrier jacket and reveal the cutest little pink and white stripped panties. Everything definitely seemed to be getting back to being 'normal' now, even though there were a handful of unanswered questions. Elio's armor, the small purple haired girl Nanoha mentioned, the new jewel seeds, and several more that were hovering around the sixth mobile division. I couldn't help but feel as if everything that's happened up until now was just life's way of preparing us for a harder battle to come, and truthfully I'm a little scared. At least now I can press forward again, with the help of my girlfriend by my side. Even my doubts and fears seemed to fade into nothing as long as she was with me, which thankfully seemed to be constantly lately. In fact I don't think we're apart for more than a few hours a day now.

**TSAB: 6****th**** Mobile Division Epilogue**

**By: Satashi**

"Fate-chaaaaaaaan!" Nanoha hopped to a stop in front of her office door, smiling brightly. "Come on, it's time to go, we need to prepare for tomorrow!" She walked in the room and looked around while the blond smiled to herself and finished up her typing. "So many pictures…" She continued along her way, pausing at one of Subaru and Tia. The former was sitting under a tree with Tia asleep with her head on the other girl's lap. "Aw, what a cute couple. I noticed them acting really flirty with each other lately I was wondering if something was going on between them?"

"Seems that way," Fate confirmed as she saved her work and allowed the displays and keyboards to vanish. "I'm ready now," She grabbed her purse and stood up. "What you looking at?"

Nanoha reached up and touched the frame that had Caro happily riding Freidliche in his giant form. "I missed so much in such a short time… My little girl's first summon… My stars members starting to like each other… Elio's unknown power up…" Letting out a sigh she closed her eyes lightly. "Amazing what can happen in a span of a month or so."

"Nanoha…" Fate wrapped her arms around her from behind. "Don't let it get to you, everything's okay now. It won't happen anymore so don't dwell on it."

"It was hard for you too… I heard everything when you fought with 'her'. I know you accept it but it must still hurt to learn something new."

"No, its okay. I gained valuable information on the man we're after. I'll take him down eventually; this is just a step in that direction. The girl you mentioned, Lutecia, seems to be connected, and is being investigated by Yuuno. Did you know he will be moving in our building soon?"

"Yeah, he called me this morning." Nanoha smiled lightly. "It'll be great to have him so close again."

"Hey, you'll make me jealous."

Nanoha giggled, pleased at the change of topic. "Oh please, you'd get jealous over Subaru if I ate lunch with her."

"Would not!" Fate blushed darkly as she pulled away and crossed her arms. "But I can see how you'd think that, she _does_ have bigger breast than you."

Nanoha's eyes watered up. "Fate-chaaaaan! That's mean!"

The blond looked behind herself and smiled, sticking out her tongue. "Nyahaha."

"That's my laugh, you can't have it!" Nanoha flailed out her arms dramatically. Fate watched her girlfriend puff out her cheeks in annoyance a moment before humphing at her and looking away. A few moments went by in silence before Nanoha glanced over her shoulder to make sure Fate was still paying attention to her little temper tantrum and was pleased to find the blond still interested. "I suppose I can forgive you this one time, though, since you're going to rub my back tonight."

"Hey, since when did I become the rub rabbit? That's your job."

Nanoha winked at her playfully as she turned around and took her hand to lead her out of the office. "Come on, we need to finish packing and be sure we're ready."

"We're only going to be gone three days," Fate laughed as they made their way across the base to the residential area. "We don't need to pack everything in our closets."

"Sure we do," She countered. "You're always too shy about clothing, you need to express yourself more."

"Simple is fine for me, miss weird color underwear."

The blue eyed girl put a hand on her hip. "I _like_ my underwear. At least I have colors besides black and purple." Her conversation paused when she spied Caro a few paces in front of her walking her dragon. "Caro-chan!"

"Mommy!" Caro stopped and allowed them to catch up to her. "Good evening," She bowed to them lightly.

"Oh stop being so polite, its okay." Nanoha hugged her happily. "And hello to you as well, Freidliche." She reached out and pet the dragon affectionately, receiving a low purr/growl in return.

"He says hello," Caro translated for them. "Are you and Fate-san going on leave tomorrow?"

"We are. On my home planet it's a major holiday so I want to go visit my family… Hey, do you want to come too? I can introduce you to everyone."

Caro gave Fate a nervous glance before shyly shaking her head. "I-I'm sorry but I have some business here… I…um… have to… help Shamal-sensei with some things regarding my summoning power."

"Aw, okay then." Nanoha stood back up properly. "Don't go walking too long, its getting dark."

"I'll be okay, I'm meeting my dragoon at the jogging track."

"Your dragoon?"

"That's what she calls Elio," Fate told her with an amused smile. "She calls him that sort of like Hayate calls her knights her children."

"I see," She smiled down at her. "Well then, be sure your dragoon gets some rest tonight as well, okay little Princess?"

"Okay!" She nodded happily and waved as they walked away from the girls.

"Those two are going to be the cutest couple on the base when they're old enough to realize what love is."

"Oh yes," Nanoha re-took Fate's hand and began walking into the building again. "We better step up our game or we'll lose the number one spot!"

* * *

"I'm home," Tia greeted softly to the dark room, carefully walking in and turning on a small desk lamp to give her some light. A soft moan greeted her, bringing a smile to her lips. "I didn't wake you did I?"

"Yes," Subaru answered honestly as she rolled over to look lazily from her pillow and allowing one hand to hang off the top bunk. "But I don't mind." She hazily watched Tia change for bed, guiltily allowing her eyes to look at her body. "You're sexy."

"Subaru!" Tia flushed, instantly turning off the light and plunging herself in darkness. "Don't say things like that…" Tia hurried to finish, blushing more at the insanely cute laugh she received. Once changed, she walked over to her bed and lightly ran a finger down Subaru's arm. The hand replied instantly, moving to grip hers and giving it a loving squeeze. "Hey…Subaru?"

"Yes Honey?" She replied happily, using her own little pet name for her girlfriend.

"Um…" She stood on her bed and held onto the siding of the top bunk so she was just a little above the sleepy girl. "Would you mind if…?"

"You kissed me goodnight?" She finished for her, looking up at the dark figure above her. "Or were you going for something else?"

Tia chose not to answer, instead feeling her way to Subaru's cheek and gently leaning forward, kissing her forehead. "Sweet dreams, Subaru."

"Sweet dreams, Honey." She smiled up at her a moment longer before leaning up and pecking her cheek. "Get a good rest, we're going to be busy tomorrow setting everything up."

Tia laughed to herself. "That Fate… She doesn't underplay anything does she?" Subaru joined in on her laugh as well.

* * *

"Come _on_ Nanoha, I'm burning up!" Fate fanned herself as best she could, adjusting her sweatshirt and fluffing her hair to keep her neck from sweating. "Its eighty-five degrees and I don't want to stand around in winter clothes any longer than I have to."

"And be good," Nanoha finished saying her goodbyes to her friends and hugging Caro one final time. "I'll be back in three days but don't slack off on your training." She looked over at Vita and smiled down at her. "Give'm hell Vita-chan." She reached out and ruffled the girl's hair. When the smaller woman didn't protest Nanoha blinked at her. "Aw it's not fun unless you snap at me."

"I was holding back because you were gone so long!" Vita removed the hand from her head and glared at her, blushing hard. "Mou, don't push it." Despite her words the girl gripped the hand tighter a moment before letting go.

"Sure, sure." Nanoha waved to the rest. "Okay, I'm ready." She adjusted her thick dress and teased the fluffy ends of them to make them stand out more. Her black knee high winter boots clicked on the floor as she stood next to her girlfriend on the platform. "Beam me up Scotty!"

Fate put her face in her hand. "Do you _have_ to say that every time we teleport?" The two phased out the next moment, jumping to a war ship far away. From there they teleported once more and landed inside a small barrier on a planet. Looking around, Fate smiled to herself. "Wow, it's been so long." The two stepped out of the barrier after making sure no one was around. The wind hit them suddenly, making both girls shiver despite their winter clothing. "Its so weird being summer time one moment and the next in the dead of winter."

"Nyahaha." Nanoha bounced in place happily to try and keep herself warm. "Let's get to my parent's house quickly."

"Lead the way."

The brown haired girl smiled as they walked. "Everything looks the same, hard to believe I haven't been here in over two years." She took a long intake of air. "Ahhh, nothing like crisp winter air." Her statement was finished with a light cough. "Ugh, I can _taste_ the pollution."

Fate laughed out merrily. "I think I said the same thing the first time I came here; Midchildra hasn't had a pollution problem for hundreds of years." Her eyes scanned the area, instantly finding the tall building she stayed in. Her eyes then scanned more, seeing her old apartment complex. "This is my first time back too since we graduated."

The couple made their way along the sidewalks while reminiscing about old times. Everything from their first meeting and thoughts about it all the way up to where they met Hayate and the knights were shared. Fate was amused to find out that Nanoha first noticed her hair when they met and in turn revealed that she first took notice of Nanoha's 'funny looking barrier jacket'. This of course led to Nanoha teasing Fate about her own scantily clad 'loli-pedo' barrier jacket.

The conversation continued until they finally reached their destination and paused outside the gate leading up to Nanoha's old house. "Wow," she breathed out as she took it in. "They painted it and the dojo… It looks so inviting."

"Well don't just stand here, go in." Fate laughed, pushing her forward.

"Do I look okay? Is my hair right? My make up isn't smeared is it?"

"You look fine! Stop worrying about impressing them and go!" Fate gave her an encouraging smile. "It's your family for crying out loud."

"Your right," Nanoha shifted her duffle bag over her shoulder and walked up to the door to ring the doorbell. "Never thought I'd do _that_ to get in…" The two only had to wait a few seconds before an eager woman answered it.

"Nanoha!?" Miyuki asked, smiling at her little sister who waved happily. "Come here you!" She hugged her tightly making the other girl laugh out and return it. "Wow you've grown! You can't tell in the video letters!"

"Nyahaha, I try." She motioned to her partner. "Fate made it as well."

"Hello," Fate bowed lightly but was quickly embraced in a hug.

"Oh stop being so reserved, you're basically family!" Miyuki smiled brightly and ushered them both inside, where they were also greeted by the rest of the family.

"About time, we were wondering if you would make it." Kyoya told her, giving her sister a hug as well. "You didn't even give us a date in your letter."

"Sorry," She smiled, getting a bear hug from her mother and father at the same time. "It's been a little hectic lately."

"Tell us all about it!" Miyuki asked excitedly. "You've already been promoted so many times, it's always so amazing to hear your stories!"

"Nyahaha," She scratched the back of her head. "You wouldn't believe the latest one even if I told you."

"Easy now, lets let them settle down." Shiro told them. "We can talk about all that in a bit." He smiled at Fate and gave the girl a hug as well. "Hello Fate-san, glad to see you again."

"You too, Takamachi-san." She returned the hug happily.

"Call me Shiro," he chuckled. "How many times have I told you?"

"Sorry," Fate blushed lightly, getting hugs from everyone else as well.

"Where should I put my stuff?" Nanoha asked, picking up her bag again.

"Your room of course," Momoko giggled. "We re-arranged it a little bit but its still your room."

"You did!?" She ran up the stairs quickly to go see.

"Nervous?" Miyuki asked Fate with a grin.

"Very," She replied honestly.

"Can I see it?" Momoko walked over to her eagerly. "Please?"

"Sure," Fate sat down her bag and unzipped the side pouch to pull out the single item in it. "I probably checked to make sure it was here at least a thousand times before we came."

Nanoha gasped out when she saw her room. It was no longer blindingly girly but was instead a cool cream color with family photos along the wall. Setting her bag down, she walked around the room curiously. There was a small section on the wall that had a row of pictures of Nanoha, from the first being one of her wearing her TSAB uniform for the first time all the way up to the present, where she was wearing her 6th Division brown uniform. On top of the row were two pictures of her different Barrier Jackets and below them were pictures of Nanoha and Fate together, even complete with two pictures of Fate's Barrier Jackets. "Home sweet home," She whispered to herself.

* * *

"It's going to be cold there." Caro told Elio when he walked up to the group of people hanging around the teleporter. "You should have put on something warmer."

"I don't really have any winter clothes," He admitted lightly, scratching the back of his neck shyly. "So jeans and a long sleeved shirt are the best I could come up with."

"I don't want you to catch a cold," Caro pulled off her pink scarf and wrapped it around his neck before tying it in a fluffy bow. "There, that will keep you a little warmer."

Subaru covered her mouth but didn't quite stop the loud laughing that followed. Tia elbowed her in the ribs but the blue haired girl couldn't help herself anymore. "Oh my god, he's so _cute_!" She put both hands on his shoulders and leaned down to him. "You're _darling_, Elio!" She laughed again, finally making Tia snort to herself and turn around to cover her own repressed giggling. The boy, however red, didn't remove the article of clothing. Instead he gripped Caro's hand and looked down at her smile.

"We all here?" Hayate asked, wearing a formalish winter outfit complete with black stockings and a fluffy white buttoned up jacket. It came complete with a matching purse and boots, which clacked against the tile when she walked. Her eyes scanned the area seeing all the forwards, her knights, as well as Chrono, Amy, and Yuuno. "Well then, let's be off!" She watched a few of them teleport off at a time, stopping only when She saw Freidliche walk up along with Elio and Caro. "Whoa, Caro, your dragon can't go!"

"Why not?" She asked innocently. "He'll be good, I promise."

"It's not that…" She tried to think on how to word it. "He will… make a lot of people scared. We're going to a non administrated normal planet, people there don't know about magic or for that matter, most anything we have or can do."

"It's not even classified as 'advanced'?" Elio wondered, amazed. "Fate-san never told me that."

"Yes, so…"

Caro hugged her dragon and gave Hayate puppy dog eyes that she had learned from none other than Nanoha herself. "Plleaaassssseeeeee?"

* * *

"Wow, its great taking a bath in your old bathroom again." Nanoha happily sat on her bed in only a towel while she dried her hair. "What a day, I can't believe we went all over town. I think my feet are going to fall off."

"You're too used to flying," Fate mused as she finished combing her still damp hair. "Want to get in bed early?"

"I guess," Nanoha fell back on her bed and sighed out. "Back home again and I have Fate-chan to keep me warm on a cold winter's night. Doesn't get much better than this."

"Oh?" Fate cut off the lights and got in bed next to her. "Well then, allow me to keep you warm while we sleep."

"Actually…" Nanoha undid her towel and tossed it across the room. "One thing I've always really wanted to do…" She whispered huskily into Fate's ear. "Is make love on this bed."

"Nanoha!" She blushed darkly. "Your parent's room is _right_ next to us, and your brother and sister are too!"

"I'll bite a pillow," She replied, running her hand across Fate's stomach already. "I'm not missing this chance, Nyahaha."

"Mou, you." Fate kissed her regardless. "Dibs on top." She rolled Nanoha over quickly.

* * *

"Merry Christmas Eve," Nanoha yawned out as she woke up. Her stretch awoke her sleeping partner, who immediately pulled a pillow over her head. "Fine, you can sleep in. I'll make you some coffee." She got a sleepy hum and watched Fate roll onto her back when she was no longer there to hold her. The girl left her room happily walking down the familiar layout of her house while trailing her fingertips along the walls. The kitchen was empty so she made herself at home and turned on the coffee maker before looking around for the beans. Having a cake and coffee shop mostly all her life, Nanoha had truly learned to make a great cup of joe, something Fate appreciated immensely on a daily basis.

Her slipper-clad feet made soft sounds as she walked around the counter and over to the living room to look out the window. Snow was falling softly outside but didn't seem to want to stick to the ground before melting. As the smell of coffee started to drift to her nose she thought back on the past events. She had told her family most of everything that happened to her lately, leaving out the part that Skeith was really her. The battle ended with Fate talking her down into submitting and turning herself in, which wasn't really far from the truth. The thought of the battle made her mind drift off again, recalling the girl known as Aura in her dreams. She was still there, Nanoha could tell, but there was almost nothing left; Aura was asleep, probably forever.

The sound of water dripping stopped, calling her attention back to the coffee machine where she poured what she had steeped into a glass pitcher and put it on the warmer before grinding more beans and setting up the water and filters. This time she a made a mix of different blends and used a different method, making herself some cappuccino instead. Her hands went on auto-pilot, mind being elsewhere. Nanoha's team members came to her memory, bringing with it a soft smile. Tia and Subaru were a couple now, she had officially decided it for herself after catching them gazing into each other's eyes while holding hands under a tree. They seemed to be hiding it so the girl had left them alone, thinking it best to let them silently work out their problems and emotions.

Caro and Elio also seemed to be a couple, although neither one really understood what that meant. The thought made Nanoha laugh briefly to herself and shake her head with an amused look. '_It's like looking at Fate-chan and myself_' she thought merrily as she poured her finished product into a cup and started to froth some foam onto it. '_Back then we didn't know what "love" or even "like" meant. All we understood was that it was a nice feeling to be next to each other…_' Her breakfast cup was finally finished so she took it and walked over to the window again before sipping on it. '_Caro calls Elio as if he belongs to her, and Elio calls her his princess. My little girl seems to always be touching him in one way or another, maybe I should take a few pictures of them so I will have something to think back on…_' the thought made her hand instinctively go up to form a yellow screen to take a picture, but when nothing happened she had to laugh at herself. The M2D didn't work on this planet.

'_It's so peaceful,_' her mind wandered again as the sounds of people waking up started to echo through the quiet house. '_Sometimes it's weird… There are people out there who are doing things that we don't understand, people I will have to hunt down, questions that have no answers…But here, right now, everything is calm._' She turned around when her mother came into the kitchen and grinned at the amused look she received. "What?" She asked with a giggle. "Am I not allowed to sleep in a little when I'm home?"

"You've done that ever since I can remember," She mused, pouring herself a cup of the coffee and sitting at the table. "You would wake up at four in the morning and sneak off."

"You knew?" Nanoha sat across from her, shocked. "But…"

"Your sudden increased appetite and sleeping earlier made me believe you were out jogging but didn't want your sister or brother to tease you about it so I just thought you went out earlier than them."

"I see," Nanoha drank a slow sip. "I was out training, but you probably guessed that after we told you everything."

"What a shock that was," Momoko leaned back in her chair. "And now here you are, almost twenty and already a high ranking officer of some inter-galactic military. And I thought you were going to stay home until you were married." She grinned knowingly, sipping her drink.

"If only," Nanoha propped her cheek up on her hand and her arm on the table. "We've been together for almost seven years, I don't even know if it's crossed her mind, let alone enough to ask me."

"Just give her time," She reached out and pet Nanoha's other hand. "She's a shy girl, maybe she's just waiting for the right moment."

"Oh, I need to wake her up or she'll sleep for another few hours." Nanoha stood and laughed. "It's actually probably only two or so in the morning on Midchildra. I'm used to taking naps so time changing isn't really bad for me. Fate-chan on the other hand…" She covered a smile. "She'll sleep all day if I don't wake her up and giver her some coffee."

* * *

"You about ready?" Nanoha finished putting in her earrings and rooted around her mother's make up case to find a light shade of pink lipstick.

"Eh? Um, y-yes." Fate shifted nervously, looking herself over in the mirror next to Nanoha.

"Mou, relax. I know we haven't been on a date in a long time but sheesh, you're acting like a teenager."

"I _am_ a teenager," She countered while trying to fix her hair that was curled at the ends. "I'm not nervous." Her statement was made even more unbelievable by accidentally knocking over a few things on the table.

"Your hand are shaking, what's wrong?" Nanoha gripped them and rubbed Fate's palms. "Are you feeling sick? Shamal-sensei said that you can sometimes get sick by planet hopping?"

"No, no, I'm fine." She stood up and smoothed out her tight fitting black gown. "I look okay?"

"Lovely, as always." Nanoha straightened up her girlfriend's necklace and smiled. "There, perfect." She gave her a quick kiss. "Let's go, our reservation is in half an hour."

"Yeah," Fate followed her out of her room and down the stairs, where other people were waiting.

"Oh, you are all going out as well?" Nanoha wondered absently.

"Yes, we are going to the Italian place across town. You go ahead and go, we had to make your reservations months in advance." Momoko waved at her daughter. "I knew you'd want to go out when you were back here again."

"Thanks mom," Nanoha smiled and waved back, guiding Fate out the door. "Sorry we have to take a taxi."

"Don't worry, its not like we have a car on this planet." Fate smiled lightly, looking in her purse.

"Honey you've checked your purse a hundred times already, you have everything you need." The brown haired girl giggled. "My, you're so funny tonight."

"Thank you?" Fate gave her a grin.

The way to the restraint was made quickly and they merrily walked past the long line of people waiting outside. Upon entering Fate walked up to the Maitre D and smiled at him. "Reservations for two, Harlaown."

"Ah yes, Harlaown-dono, we have been expecting you and your wonderful partner." He gave the two a small bow. "Please, allow me to show you to your table." He took two menus from the counter and guided them along a short hallway and into a rather large room with tables around the sides and a large open area in the middle for dancing. A live band was playing soft music up at the front, paired with several couples slow dancing to the tone. The girls were shown their table and Fate instantly pulled the chair for Nanoha, making the girl blush. "Your menus, my ladies." He handed them to the women after seating Fate and smiled, taking the 'reserved' slip off the table. "I shall have my finest waiter come shortly, please enjoy your meal."

"Oh wow," Nanoha looked around. "Everyone is in tuxedos and evening gowns… I'm not under dressed am I?" She looked down at the fancy pink dress her mother let her borrow for the night.

"Not at all," Fate couldn't help but smile. "You're beautiful, Nanoha."

"Aw," The girl felt her cheeks color yet again. "Stop it, Fate-chan, you're embarrassing me…" She looked down shyly. "I guess I'm a teenager too, huh?"

"In all the best ways," Fate nodded at her.

Small talk was made casually between them, ranging from nothing to everything. In the background music played softly, setting a romantic mood over the entire place while they waited. When the waiter came to them Fate ordered for her friend and then herself. She got a small bow and the two were once again left to themselves. Although the time it took to get their meal took forever, the girls didn't even seem to notice it. Instead they were happily flirting with each other at their table. Nanoha seemed very pleased with what Fate had ordered her, which made the blond breathe a sigh of relief.

The maitre D came back over to them when their meal was finished and gave a small bow before addressing them. "My ladies, was everything satisfactory this eve?" He smiled at them when both complimented the food. "Please, feel free to join in on the dance floor?" He looked over at Fate and raised his eyebrow at her.

"Y-yes," She nodded a little nervously. "Let's dance, Nanoha?"

"Okay!" She thanked the person when he helped her chair slide back. Nanoha offered her hand to Fate, who took it after nodded to the maitre D one more time. "We haven't danced for real in ages either, have we?" She wondered absently as they walked to the floor when a new song started. "I hope I don't embarrass you."

"No way," Fate lead the dance slowly, pleased when Nanoha wasted no time in resting her head on her shoulder. Combined with Fate's high heels and her natural height advantage she was the perfect height for her partner to lean on. "Your hair smells nice," She mused after a moment, getting a happy giggle in return. The red eyed girl looked around the room as they danced, meeting several people's eyes and getting smiles. The song ended slowly and faded seamlessly into the next, complete with a new female singer.

_Far in the light, I can see it. In every scene of the night: a tiny feather of love._

Nanoha blinked, pulling away from Fate just enough to look up at her. "Hey, you hear that?" She smiled. "It's our song! What are the odds?"

_Even in the night I see your face, in the dark. So I never lose my way to you, I never close my heart, the light is always there_

Nanoha paused her talking when the lights suddenly got dimmer around them and a spotlight slowly illuminated the area they were dancing. "Hey… What's going on?" She looked up at Fate, who was smiling nervously but excitedly at the same time down at her. "…Fate-chan?"

"Nanoha…" Fate stopped dancing and spoke to her fully, absently realizing that the sound form the music had been dimmed. "I love you very, very much…"

"I love you too," She replied instantly, eyes suddenly going wide when Fate reached into her purse that she had taken with her onto the dance floor. "Oh my god…"

"So," Fate continued, slowly kneeling down.

"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god."

"Nanoha," The word made the girl snap down to look at her, seeing Fate open a small black velvet case and revealing a diamond ring. "Will you be my bride?"

The girl brought a hand to her mouth in shock. "I…Wow…. I mean…Ye….that is…" She stammered over her words, glancing around the room when she realized everyone's eyes were on them. During her look she noticed Yuuno watching her while dancing with Hayate, as well as Chrono and all the knights scattered around the room. "Oh my!" looking more, she saw her students grinning at her from the side of the dance floor as well as her family. "I…I, wow…" She repeated her words, still stammering to answer. Finally her eyes met Alisa and Suzuka who waved at her discreetly. Nanoha's eyes turned back down to Fate, who was still holding her breath. "Ye…." Her word never finished. Instead her eyes rolled up in her head and she fainted right on top of the one asking her.

"Nanoha!" Yuuno rushed over to them and lifted up the girl before Fate fell over as well. "I got her," He told Fate while shifting the girl to carry her off the floor. "Wow, you better get someone to carry you as well, you look like you're going to pass out too."

"She could have at least answered first," Fate breathed out while Hayate fanned her. "I think I'm going to be sick…"

"Not yet," Hayate helped her stand and walked with her to the side where everyone was gathering.

"Uhm…" Nanoha's eyes slowly opened, looking up at her best friend. "Yuuno…I had the most wonderful dream just now…"

"Wasn't a dream," he smiled and sat her down in a chair. "She's right here," He moved to the side, revealing Fate.

"Fate-chan!" Nanoha gasped yet again as she recalled what just happened. "I fainted, I'm so sorry!"

"Its okay," Fate shifted lightly where she stood, looking down at her. "So…Um…?"

All at once Nanoha leapt forward, hugging the girl as tight as she could "YES!"

"Oh thank god," Fate hugged her back just as hard while almost toppling over. "You scared the living hell out of me you silly girl."

"I'm sorry!" She laughed out, hopping in the hug. "You proposed! Hahahaha!" She hopped a few more times before pulling back and looking down at the ring case and offering her shaking hand.

Fate quickly plucked the ring and slid it over her left ring finger. "Like it?"

"Love it!" Nanoha looked at the ring a moment more before once again hugging her. "How on earth did you set all this up?"

"I had help." The blond kissed her fiancée's forehead.

"Guilty," Suzuka held up her hand. "My family owns this place. Fate-chan called a while ago to get it all together."

"And everyone is staying at my house while they're here," Alisa added in with a grin.

"Alisa-chan, Suzuka-chan!" Nanoha latched on to them and hugged them both tightly. "I missed you!" The three shared a small moment together before they all started talking at once and introducing everyone to each other. The group quickly made its way outside so they wouldn't disturb the other guest and were greeted by the landing of a small dragon, instantly sending a good portion of the group into a small fit.

"Freidliche!" Caro ran forward and hugged her dragon. "You said you would stay in the air!"

"What is that!?" Alisa asked, pointing at the summoned beast while hugging Suzuka. "A dragon!?"

"Yup!" Caro confirmed happily.

"Oh!" Nanoha walked over to Caro and took her hand, leading her over to Momoko. "Mom, this is Caro-chan. She's my un official daughter."

"Hello," Caro bowed deeply to her. "I've wanted to meet you for a while now," She smiled up at the woman. "Mommy says you're very kind."

Momoko looked over at Nanoha, who was temporarily looking at her ring again. "Well," She spoke down at Caro as she knelt down. "I guess that would make me your grandmother huh?" She opened her arms. "Come give me a hug." Caro complied happily, making Momoko smile. "Welcome to the family."

"Family…" Nanoha whispered, tearing her eyes from her ring and looking over at Fate. "We're going to get married and have a family!"

Fate nodded happily and put a hand on Elio's shoulder. "With a little boy and girl."

"Nyahaha!" Once more she looked down at her ring and repressed a squeal of joy. '_A new chapter in my life,_' She thought, feeling Fate hug her from behind. '_I can't think of any better way to start it._' Nanoha turned around in the arms and kissed Fate soundly, prompting the entire group to laugh and cheer at them. '_I love you, Fate!_'

* * *

To be continued… 

Nanoha: It was the beginning of a new chapter in our lives. I had everything; a fiancée, a little girl, the best students anyone could ask for, all my friends…

Fate: But just like a river, time keeps flowing. Inevitable battles are coming, questions have to be answered.

Elio: Why am I so susceptible to support magic? Why do dragons give me armor? ...What secrets did my parents hide?

Caro: I finally control the power I have deep inside, the power that made me be outcast from my tribe, the power the military…experimented… with. Freidliche, tell me! What happened in my past!? Why did you say I've met you before!? …Why was I given this power?

Tia: Nanoha-san told me I was picked for this battalion for a reason, something I would have to discover for myself one day… Tell me, what is it that drew me here? …My brother always told me, there is no such thing as coincidence, only the inevitable.

Subaru: I feel a little out of place lately… Everyone around me has come so far since we started, but I… have failed. I was beaten up and knocked unconscious; I was too weak to go on the important missions that followed… I failed to protect my team… Sub lieutenant Vita! Train me! Help me become stronger! To protect them! ...To protect _her_."

Hayate: Next time on Magical Girl Lyrical Nanoha 6th Division: Reminisce "A new chapter"

Nanoha: I can't die like this! I have to protect them! Help me…someone…._anyone_!

????: Call me… I will find you…

Nanoha: I'm here…. I'm right here... Come ON! I'm….right… _here!_"

* * *

Notes: Thus ends the first installment of the "6th Division" storyline

The following is an added feature and is not part of the story itself; consider it a very-very long author's notes, one you don't need to read to enjoy the next installment if you don't want to.

As many of you could tell, or have known from my previous works of fan fiction, I'm not shy about slipping in cameo appearances from other series. I normally add in the more apparent ones at the end of a chapter but because this story is so long, I thought it would be best to sum up most of them at the end, as to not interrupt the flow of the story all that much. The following are most all (I missed a few, probably) of the Intended References and Cameos. You do not need any prior knowledge to enjoy them since I changed everything so much, but for those of you who are interested, here they are.

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"_Mount Fuji's," Subaru read the name of the neon sign. "…This is a bar isn't it?"_

-Mount Fuji: Came from Street Fighter 2V, the bar that Ryu and Ken first met Guile in. It was changed to a night club instead of a small shady bar.

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"_Well in that case, I'll whip up something that'll make her want to come back!" Haseo gave a short bow to the small girl before executing a fluid back flip to get back to the head of the table. A pad was tossed up from the pouch on his waist and a pen followed suit. The items twirled in the air a moment before being caught. "May I take your order?"_

-Haseo: Name and character design taken from .Hack Roots. Although in the series he's a PKK (Player Killer Killer) who is more than a little "psychotic" in this story he plays a playful waiter who has a tendency to 'flare'.

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_Kuhn flipped his long blue ponytail over his shoulder. "I see. Drinks all around?"_

-Kuhn: Name, character design, and personality taken from .Hack Roots. In the series he is a gun wielding Epitath user who fights for everyone. In this story he is an Earthling running a night club on Mid-childra.

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"_Call her… Skeith."_

-Skeith: Name only taken from the .Hack series. In the series Skeith is a program used to collect data on different players to see their reaction to death. He is several stories tall, has a wicked staff and scythe (depending on game). In Hack GU, he becomes Haseo's "avatar" and is used to fight AIDA. In this story, Skeith is a jewel seed bearing the remains of a broken girl.

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_Gently Hanon moved her chin up so they could look into each other's eyes. "One day…" The girl kissed her softly. "You will understand. Don't let them win, Aura. Don't let go of what remains of what they took away. Embrace them."_

Aura: Skeith's human name. Name only taken from the goddess of "The World". In the series Aura kept balance in the online game until her disappearance. In this fanfic the name was given to Skeith's human form.

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"_Lunch time, Fate-sempai," a male by the name of Syaoran poked his head into her office. "Come on, you've been in there non-stop. Stretch your legs out some."_

-Syaoran: Name taken from Card Captor Sakura's main male character.

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"_Like I would fall for something like that?" Skeith grinned darkly, making Signum look down in shock at the bloody arm pressing against her stomach. "Data Drain!" Several orange beams shot out from Skeith's wrist, twirling slowly as red and green hexagons filled the spaces between them, leaving several places open. "Raising Heart may refuse me as its master," She told Signum as a black ball of energy shot into her stomach. "But that won't keep me from copying yours!"_

-Data Drain: Concept taken from Kite's bracelet in .Hack Infection. In the game, Kite uses his bracelet to re-write data around him. In the process he takes in the data which can ultimately hurt or kill him if he's not careful. In the story, Skeith's Data Drain is incomplete and faulty, only allowing her to copy data and allow her to 'phase shift' with said data (something Kite can't do). She cannot re-write data nor does she have a drawback for using it.

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"_Give me a daiquiri, a real daiquiri and don't bring me one of those sissy-fied neon slushies either!"_

-Quote taken from Deb Duchon, a nutritional anthropologist who regularly appears on the Food Network show "Good Eats."

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_Firesday - Earthsday - Watersday - Windsday - Iceday - Lightningsday - Lightsday – Darksday _

-The days of the week on Mid-childra. Unlike Earth, they have 8 days to the week. Names from Final Fantasy XI, an MMORPG.

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"_I see…" The man turned to accept the clipboard of papers. Dark gray hair hung around his head around a bald spot on top, paired with a mustache that was equally gray with wisp of white flecking it. "Then I believe we should neutralize any un-needed emotions before the conversion process."_

-Dr. Wily: The original mad scientist from the old game "Mega Man"

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_Elio held onto his spear soundly, eyes glaring over at him while glowing a deep red. The sound of metal clicking against metal came when he started calmly walking forward. Silver armor graced his body, much like a knight from the medieval times. The joints of his knees and elbows were accented by a point, graced with a golden loop in the tip. The lack of proper lighting did nothing from keeping the polished armor from shining, giving accent to the helmet which displayed proudly the type of knight he was. The helm had dragon fins on the side, as well as one small horn above the forehead cover, also bearing the small golden loop in it. His face wasn't covered, but his cheeks were blessed with a small silver signals that appeared to be quarter moons with a line bisecting them horizontally the mark of a dragoon knight._

-Elio's Armor: "Dragoon" armor found most commonly in Final Fantasy games. This type of warrior specializes with a spear and being able to jump impossible distances into the air. In this story, Elio's armor reflects the dragon Caro currently has out (In this case, Freidliche) the way he summons the armor is unknown to him, although he still has the power to do so. In the process, Elio makes a pact with the dragons, devoting himself to their master in return for the armor. Because of this, Elio calls Caro "Princess Caro" or "Caro-hime" and Caro refers to Elio as "my dragoon"

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_Her black knee high winter boots clicked on the floor as she stood next to her girlfriend on the platform. "Beam me up Scotty!"_

-If you don't know this quote you need to be hit upside the head with a shovel or some other blunt object.

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_Far in the light, I can see it. In every scene of the night: a tiny feather of love._

-Song lyrics from "Tsubasa Chronicles", the song is, ironically, "Tsubasa"

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Rebirth, Reminisce, Redemption.

-Names used to divide the sections on this story, also the game names of the trilogy hack G.U.

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That is all I remember right off. I may have missed a few but chances are if it's not listed here I either pointed it out earlier or what you're thinking I referenced to was completely on accident. The next story will be made depending on the overall responces this one gets, so if you're interested in this being continued, lemme know. If you would prefer shorter stories, say so as well. See you next time.


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